Polaris One-Two at Taupo 1000

Polaris One-Two at Taupo 1000

A puncture on day one and a shredded drive belt on day two wasn't enough to stop Drummond & Etheridge Racing from claiming second in class at the Taupo 1000 behind fellow Polaris driver Rocket Ron Kirkman. D & E Racing came into the event as massive underdogs. With a car many considered to be a mere toy which had only arrived a week beforehand and two drivers who would be lucky to have finished five races between them, nobody was holding very high hopes for the team. Practice was the first time either driver had raced the car and the team received only one lap due to timing restraints. So with three minutes experience head driver Reece Trotter was thrown in the car for qualifying and ended up an astonishing 33rd out of close to 100 cars.

Trotter started day one and from the minute the flag dropped he made it clear that the Polaris RZR 900 was a serious race machine by pushing the car up to 21st within the first lap. Unfortunately a faulty petrol gauge saw the team pit straight after lap one to ensure they had plenty of fuel in the tank. This dropped D & E Racing out of the top forty but Trotter was on a charge and when co-driver Scott Campbell took over on lap five they were back within the top twenty five. After years of racing challengers the Polaris provided a steep learning curve for Campbell but he soon adjusted to the car and brought it home safe for Trotter to take the wheel again at lap seven. With the car firmly within the top twenty things were looking good for D & E Racing until a flat tyre saw them once again dropping bundles of time. A spare front tyre was thrown on the rear and a slow drive back to the pits took them out of the top thirty and a lap down on Rocket Ron. Another couple of solid laps by Trotter and Campbell and the team found themselves 28th on the grid for day two.

Both drivers were determined to make up for the time lost in day one and Trotter certainly showed that when he pass an unbelievable fifteen cars within the first lap placing him 13th on the track and right behind the soon to be passed Rocket Ron. Things continued to run smoothly for the team until the fifth lap when Campbell once again took control of the car. A conservative drive coupled with a hold up on the track which cost them several minutes saw Rocket Ron sneak back past at the end of lap five. Knowing both teams would be pitting in another lap Campbell opted to push a little bit harder and keep the pressure on his fellow Polaris driver. That pressure soon paid off when a mistake from Rocket Ron saw him run wide and Campbell slip up the inside. The glory was short lived however with a blocked radiator over heating the engine and costing the team valuable time and placings. Trotter again proved the pace of the RZR pushing the car within the top ten by lap eight. After almost two days and a phenomenal effort by the events most virginal team it all came to an abrupt end with a shredded drive belt putting the team out on lap eight of the second day. Despite losing three laps, not to mention the complete lack of prep time and experience, D & E Racing still managed second in class and 26th overall.

This certainly wont be the last we hear from D & E Racing with Trotter already indicating he'll be racing the national championship series next year in a new class being introduced for the UTV vehicles. Trotter may find he has some pretty stiff competition however with many current racers showing a lot of interest in the Polaris RZRs and even more current Polaris owners keen on getting into the sport.

D & E Racing would like to thank Drummond & Etheridge, Polaris, Snap Management, Holdfast, Sylvester Safety Equipment, Interislander, Vortex and Husaberg for all their support.