Last year’s Australian Off Road Champions will kick off their title defence in St George on 4-6 May when round one of the 2018 BF Goodrich CAMS Australian Off Road Championship hits town.
2017 Australian Off Road Champion driver, Matthew Martin, and navigator, Chris Clarke, have confirmed their entries to the St George 399. With Martin yet to confirm his navigator and Clarke riding shotgun with 2017 championship runner-up Chris Browning, sparks are sure to fly not just in the prolite class, but in the race for outright honours.
The pro buggy class is wide open in 2018, with last year’s St George 399 winner and class champion Travis Robinson absent, having sold his buggy late last year to take some time off from the sport.
Bryce Chapman, Laurence Svenson and Ryan Taylor return for their second crack at the event – Chapman will be hoping for a trouble free run to better his second place finish last year.
Eight-time Australian champion Shannon Rentsch and 2016 champion Jack Rhodes will make their St George 399 debuts, along with SMU Racing’s Matt Hanson, fresh from a short course win at Sea Lake.
Several 2017 class champions will also be hoping to open their 2018 points account at the St George 399.
Gary Taylor, defending champion in the SXS Sport class, previously known as Superlite A, is back with a new navigator in Nolan Mack and will be gunning for a win.
In the SXS Turbo class, previously Superlite B, class champions Greg Campbell and Joshua Bennett will be leading the charge in the super competitive field of Can-ams and Polaris’.
Production 4WD legend and 2017 class champion Geoff Pickering is out to claim his 13th class title in 2018, with Dylan Watson again by his side.
Reigning Super 1650 class champion Declan Cummins is back in his Lothringer for another shot at the title while his 2017 navigator, class champion, Patrick Philp has made the switch to the drivers seat in a prolite.
In the Extreme 4WD class, husband and wife team Paul and Michelle Malt will be hoping to lead the pack as they attempt to go back to back.
Entries are still open for the St George 399, offering more than 450 competitive kilometres. Scrutineering will take place in town on Friday afternoon with prologue on Saturday morning, followed by three-laps of the purpose-built 50 kilometre course on Saturday afternoon. Section two kicks off on Sunday with a gruelling six-lap stint.
In addition to the on-track action, the St George Show will take place on Sunday 6 May with the local rodeo and fireworks on Sunday night following the St George 399.
Anyone interested in volunteering should contact SEQORRA via email [email protected] to find out more.