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Maxxis-sponsored Gigglepin Racing takes King of Britain title

After triumphing at last month’s GRAF Adventure Series 2016, unlimited 4X4 racing legends, Gigglepin Racing, again took to the tracks; this time competing in Ultra 4 Europe’s Maxxis King of Britain event.

The race, taking place 7 – 9 October, was tagged to be ‘The toughest off road race in Britain’ and didn’t come without complications along the way.

Fashioning a change of venue, now situated in the South of England, King of Britain saw over 45 trucks lapping up 200 miles over the three-day stint. Kicking off on the evening of 7 October, it wasn’t long before Gigglepin made their presence known by showing their rivals that they were there to win with Jerry setting the third fastest qualifying time and Jim setting the best qualifying time, ensuring pole position for the following day’s racing.

Commenting on the first round of events, Gigglepin driver, Jim Marsden, said: “We nailed it, taking the fastest time by nearly 20 seconds.”

Gearing themselves up for the 12X9 mile laps around the notorious Bovington Camp the following day, Gigglepin fronted the race, eyeing up the competition lining up behind them. The team made a great start, laying seven blistering laps around the military base. Jim said: “Our team were superb,” but it wasn’t long before disaster struck; ten laps in, the team threw a belt. After many attempts to rectify the issue, the problem seemed to keep coming back – costing them nearly 70 minutes’ worth of racing time.

But, it wasn’t just Gigglepin that lost out on valuable competing time, as Dirtyduck found themselves in a similar situation. Finishing 7 th in last year’s race, Dirtyduck were keen to advance on their former position. Qualifying in 3 rd on the first round of events, the team hit a wall by the second day. After finding themselves without a vital car part, the team had to undergo repairs, which meant they missed the Saturday morning start time. With this delay setting a mood for the day, the team experienced further difficulties with wheel bearings and alternator belts, which required checks and replacements every 4 laps.

Despite such obstacles, both teams managed to redeem themselves fittingly. Powering on, team Gigglepin claimed victory by the end of the stint, finishing first, despite their drawbacks; Dirtyduck were not too far behind, finishing in fourth place.

Owing to the sandy conditions of the trek, tyre choices were extremely important for success. Both Gigglepin and Dirtyduck made the decision to opt for 40” competition Maxxis Trepadors; a choice which Dirtyduck considered to be ‘faultless’.

With the firmness of the tyre offering more resistance and allowing harder acceleration on the loose sand, Gigglepin commended their tyre decision, saying: “they are still the best all round competition tyre.”

Both Gigglepin and Dirtyduck are now gearing up to take part in the Driven to the Edge rally at Walters arena next month. The teams, among others, will go head to head, competing in a number of timed laps and special challenges – with the overall mileage totting up to 60 miles.

Commenting on yet another win for team Gigglepin Racing, Maxxis Managing Director, Derek McMartin, said: “Wow, there is simply no stopping this team – another awesome performance from these living 4X4 legends!”