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OutBack Challenge Morocco
Lawrie Sternbeck - Driver
Tim Bentley - Co driver/spotter
The car was built by Tim Bentley and sponsored by Staun Racing.
Event starts 24th April and finishes in Marrakesh on the 30th. Staun has flown Lawrie who is sponsored in Australia by Staun for such events as the OutBack Challenge Australia, Qld Winch Challenge, Extreme Winch series, and Alpine challenge.
Offered an invitation for a drive Staun had then to find a car, upon a recent trip to the UK Lee Davis was introduced to Tim Bentley who was building a type of racer. Tim Offered to have the car ready for the Challenge if Staun could assist and if he could co drive for Lawrie.
The Car is sporting Staun Racings colours and equipment including a special wheels made by Allied wheels in the USA specifically designed for the Staun Internal Beadlock, The Forged Alloy wheel is not only Stronger that most wheels, it accommodates the Staun internal Beadlocks Perfectly with reinforced rim edges.
Follow the event for yourselves by login on the OutBack Challenge Morocco website. www.outback-challenge.com
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ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Team Waggoner Upcoming Events
W.E.Rock – West Coast Nationals:
• June 23 & 25: Cedar City, UT
• July 21 & 23: Goldendale, WA
• August 25 & 27: Donner Pass Ski Resort, CA (NEW LOCATION!)
• Grand National Championship: September 22 – 24: Dallas, TX
• World Championship: November 3-5: Las Vegas, NV
Pro Nationals Series
• July 28 – 30: Salt Lake City, UT
• September 14 – 16: Las Vegas, NV
• Friday 29 & Saturday July 30: Salt Lake City, UT
World Championship SuperCrawl:
• October 26 – 29: TBD
Round 3 1st & 2nd July SORRA Colo Heights, NSW
Finals 12th & 13th August Tuff Truck Site Milbrodale, NSW
World Finals 3rd - 5th November Las Vegas USAStaun Racing
more info: www.werockaustralia.com
TEAM PROFILES
Cody Waggoner
Cody Waggoner and his team switched from using conventional bead locks to Staun’s Internal Bead Lock system when they discovered that the older mechnical locks were losing air during competition. The chief advantage of Staun’s Internal Bead Lock system was that it allowed Team Waggoner to reduce air pressure down to 0 psi, instead of 5 psi which was the lowest achievable with conventional locking systems. It is only with Staun’s bead locks the team ‘have the confidence that the tyre isn’t going anywhere’.
Staun began sponsoring Cody Waggoner and his team in 2005. The first competitive event which they had a chance to use Staun’s Internal Bead Lock system was last July in Goldendale, WA. The products helped to earn the team third place for the event. During the event in Goldendale a tree branch sliced the team’s sidewall of their tyre, which was potentially detrimental to the team’s outcome. Spokesperson for Team Waggoner, Lindsay Waggoner says: ‘if we didn't have Staun’s Internal Bead Locking system our tyre would have wrapped around our axle and probably been a major break for us. But because of the Staun internal bead lock our tire stayed on the rim, even though it was flatter than flat. It was a very exciting run and a great test for the bead locks. We were sold 100 times over after that course on the bead locks.’
Understandably, the team have not looked back and are avid supporters of Staun’s products. In all their time using Staun’s bead locks they have never had a failure and ‘have been pleased with the product over and beyond our wildest expectations’. They thoroughly enjoy working with the Staun team and have created a dynamic, unbeatable team with them on side.
Cody Waggoner - Racing Update
Pushing the Team Waggoner buggy to the limit Cody and Jim have successfully earned themselves a 1st and 3rd place in the recent premier competitions.
The 2006 UROC event showcased some of the top drivers in the US as they competed in Utah’s challenging rocky mountain raceway. The man made UROC course was strategically designed this time round to be tougher, with competitors needing to utilise a higher level of rock crawling skill and technical knowledge in order to finish the course in one piece.
Cody and Jim rose to the challenge and were on top of their game as they aimed to achieve high points to establish a place on the winner’s podium. Competing in 90+ degree weather the duo earned a proud 3rd place in the most recent UROC event.
The 2006 W.E Rock saw Team Waggoner perform to the best of their ability taking out first place and showcasing their talents to over 2,000 spectators and media alike in the Saturday and Sunday alone. Team Waggoner was up against some tough competition with major players Campbell, Paulie, Jordan, Zeller and Scherer all vying for the number one podium place.
Team Waggoner’s first place victory was only made sweeter when they realized that their three way tie (with Bruce Zeller and Tracy Jordan) for 3rd Place in the series had now bumped them up to 2nd place Series Champions.
With the Staun Internal Beadlock System helping them along the way Team Waggoner is sure to have yet another successful season ahead of them.
Sean Lee and his team from Aussie Boys Toys (ABT)
In 2005 Staun decided to pursue a dual partnership with Aussie Boys Toys through providing sponsorship for the construction of a buggy that was to be used in international competition. The project was a mammoth one; the boys from the ABT team planned to build their first purpose built, single-seater, front engine with 4W steer, rock crawling buggy. A vehicle of this standard had never been built before in Australia and was only known in the US.
Sean Lee, owner of ABT 4x4, had invited several US competitors to Australia to participate in WERock and the team needed an all purpose buggy that would impress their American guests. To increase the challenge, the buggy had to be built in six weeks! The buggy was completed in time and, better still, it secured the ABT team first podium finish. Though the ABT team have taken home many other titles, Sean believes their achievements at WERock International to be their best yet: building the vehicle in six weeks from scratch that would take them to second place is a pretty massive achievement!
Before gaining Staun sponsorship in November 2005, Sean and his team at ABT had used a variety of other mechanical bead lock systems, none of which they were totally satified with. When asked why his team at ABT rely on Staun products, namely the Staun Internal Bead Lock system, he answered enthusiastically: ‘because it works!’. In comparison to other mechanical bead lock systems, Sean believes Staun’s Internal Bead Lock system provides excellent value for money. In the past, the team have paid up to $750 for the system that Staun offers for just $220.
Staun Internal Bead Locks have taken Sean’s vehicles ‘to another level’ which he simply could not have reached with the mechanical counterparts. Because Staun’s bead locks actually lock both the inner and outer beads, success is ‘pretty much guaranteed’ according to Sean. The bead locks also help with vehicle stability and reduce tyre creep which increases traction.
Sean also credits the Staun Internal Bead Locks with his team’s success in two of the OZRock and W.E.Rock competitions. During the courses at these events, Sean’s team tore a massive hole in the side of one tyre. An event such as this could have shattered the team’s hopes of success. Fortunately for ABT, their vehicles were fitted with Staun’s Internal Bead Locks which quickly expanded and pushed the outer canvas layer to effectively block the hole that had been created in the side wall. The team went on to complete two competitions in this state and even managed to secure first and second place at both events.
Click here to view further image of the Aussie Boys Toys team in action.
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Lawrie Sternbeck – Sternbeck Racing Team
Lawrie Sternbeck has been an enthusiastic motor sports competitor all his life. In the last five years Lawrie has been participating in winching challenges, though he previously competed in motor cross events and jet-ski races across Australia. At fifty nine years old, Lawrie has ‘semi-retired’ from his career of extreme sports and now concentrates on professional winching challenges – certainly not a past time for the faint hearted!
Among his many achievements, Lawrie lists his ‘number one’ as winning the Xtreme Winch Challenge Series last year, an event which runs over three rounds at Land Cruiser Park, Warhope, and Emu Creek. Other great Winching achievements for the Sternbeck Racing team are their three top ten placements at the Outback Challenge they have secured over the last three years.
Lawrie and his team at Sternbeck Racing are looking forward to competing in the Outback Challenge again this year, but this time with a more modified vehicle. The team have replaced their three litre engine with manual transmission with a V8 Lexus engine with automatic transmission. Now with Staun’s Internal Bead Lock system on their side, we think they’ve found a winning combination!
The Sternbeck Racing are fairly new the Staun sponsorship program, having only joined the Staun team during the Winch Challenge in January of this year. Since then, Lawrie and his team have come sixth in the Outback Challenge whilst using Staun’s Internal Bead Lock system.
Lawrie believes Staun’s Internal Bead Lock system helped him secure his place in the Outback Challenge primarily because they are so light weight, which is critical for winching competitions. The Internal Bead Locks worked perfectly throughout the event, Lawrie said. He also believes that another impressive feature of Staun’s Internal Bead Locks is the fact that ‘if you do have a tyre problem you can continue to the end of the stage because the internal bead lock is still inflated…I can run down to 2 or 4 pound pressure and the tyre won’t move on the rim’.
The partnership between Staun and Lawrie has been a positive one for the team at Sternbeck Racing. Lawrie is extremely happy with the support they have received from Staun this year: ‘they’ve been incredible…they cannot do enough for me!’
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Team Pure Adrenalin
Team Pure Adrenalin is a family based team that hail from Farmington, New Mexico. The team started in the early days of the Rock Crawling phenomena and have seen the sport develop to become the world’s fasted growing motor sport with a huge fan base.
With over 10 years industry experience and 16 rollovers (and counting) Team Pure Adrenalin has been able to build strong relationships with sponsors and have paved the way for many young Rock Crawling enthusiasts.
The team is headed by brothers R.J and Joe Brown. R.J is the team’s driver with his quirky driver philosophy of “Spotters make for good traction” and Joe the teams Spotter who doubles as a chassis builder who’s spotting philosophy is “I said “Get on it!!”.
In the early days this dynamic duo started with a junk yard built 83 cj-7 that looked like most jeeps on the road today as time progressed and technology further developed so did Team Pure Adrenalin, they now drive a 05 Jeep Wrangler custom rock crawler and 04 Toyota Tacoma rock Racer.
“It has been a fun road to travel” comments R.J Brown on the progress of Team Pure Adrenalin over the years.
To date Team Pure Adrenalin has had many successes in the international arena- Winners of the UROC West series modified class on June 6th weekend and 5th place in the coveted SuperCrawl in 2005 to name a few.
Team Pure Adrenalin has had extensive media coverage in recent times, the teams latest call to fame was being displayed on the coveted US publication Crawl Magazine.
Team Pure Adrenalin runs with the infamous Staun internal bead lock system and we’re sure this has helped them win along the way!
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Jason Scherer from Rage 4th Racing
Jason Scherer from Rage 4th Racing is regarded as one of the rockcrawling industry’s most fearless drivers and has soared to great heights in his short career. His ‘take no prisoners’ attitude is reflected in his rockcrawling philosophy: ‘the pain goes away and the chicks dig the scars’.
Jason has been on and around the rocks since he was a child and has been driving a rock crawling rig since he was just fifteen years old. So no one was too surprised when, five years ago, Jason made the move from amateur 4WDriver and rockcrawling spectator to professional rockcrawling driver and began forging a career out of the sport he loved. Some people have described him as "unstoppable." Others claim a world class machine has finally hit the rocks of America.
Rage 4th Racing originally consisted of Jason and his long time spotter Aaron Goodrich, but towards the end of 2005, Lance Clifford – founder and owner of Pirate 4x4 – announced that he and Jason would be partners in the coming year. The pair have been unstoppable since, which is not surprising considering they are both regarded as amongst the best in the business. Lance has grown his business, Pirate4x4.com, into the largest rock crawling forum in the world and Jason, in the fifteen years he has been in the industry, is certainly considered one of the industry’s top young guns. The team’s success can also be attributed to their beloved ‘Tiny’ – their tough Nelson and Nelson custom built moon buggy which has taken them to some pretty impossible places.
Rage 4th have recently come head to head with their chief competitor Tracey Jordan and come out of the battle in a blaze of glory. The team finished three points ahead of Jordan and even took on the infamous “Matterhorn” obstacle…backwards. After a couple of warm up attempts, Scherer hurtled Tiny towards the 65 foot wall with every ounce of horsepower his motor could muster. Thanks to some high-tech tyres and Staun’s Internal Beadlock System, Tiny stuck to the face of the Matterhorn like an insect and vaulted to the top to the roaring approval of the crowd. The team’s most recent victory came in March 2006 when they came in first place at Pro Rock – 103 points in front of the second place winners!
Jason and the Rage 4th team have recently extended their gratitude to all of their sponsors, including Staun Products who supply the team with the revolutionary Internal Beadlock System which allows them to climb otherwise unconquerable terrain such as the Matterhorn.
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Jason Berger
Californian-born Jason Berger has been an enthusiastic motor sport supporter for most of his life and has always wanted to combine his skill of driving with his passion for racing and four-wheeling. Having grown up in beautiful Lake Tahoe, California, with such well-known trails as the Rubicon and Fordyce right in his backyard, it was only a matter of time before he became addicted to this sport. Jason had his first real off-road experience as a teenager when he and a friend took his Dad’s Jeep into the Rubicon, where they managed to break a spring, short out a battery and lose their brakes. Jason was hooked and continued challenging local trails until he had conquered all of them.
In 2000 Jason and his wife purchased a Toyota Landcruiser as a family car and, more importantly, to start the Backcountry Access program for Disabled Sports USA – a program which has allowed hundreds of disabled people to experience the backcountry. It has also reinforced the altruistic and conservative nature of the four-wheel drive community.
Four years later Jason decided to purchase his first competition buggy –Mountain Goat Motorsports was born and the dream of a rock crawling race team was becoming a reality. He showcased his driving skills in his first, official competition in the March 2005 WEROCK event in Moab, Utah. They broke twice and rolled once, but still managed to finish in 14th place, ahead of some competitors who had 5 or 6 years of competition experience.
Since his debut at WEROCK, Jason, and his wife as his spotter, have taken out some pretty impressive titles: 1st place at XRRA in Moab, 2005, 5th place at UROC, Salt Late City, 2005, and, at UROC in Phoenix, 2005, the team secured 9th place, despite Jason being hospitalised for heat exhaustion. Overall, Jason and his team finished 3rd place in the 2005 UROC Extreme West Series and secured a Pro Series entry for the 2006 season.
Jason thrives on the intensity of competition and pushing the limits of the vehicle to pull the most difficult lines. He loves doing things in a vehicle that most people never thought possible. Furthermore, he hopes that the growth of this sport will allow him to spread the word about Disabled Sports and the Backcountry Access program.
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Craig Stumph Racing Team Profile
Craig Stumph has been involved in off road activities since the age of 13 when he built his first dune buggy from a 1956 Ford Sedan. Craig’s passion for all things off road turned into an obsession by the age of 16 and in 1976 he discovered the art of rock crawling and purchased his first CJ7 Jeep.
In 1977 Craig and his CJ7 Jeep took their first trip to participate in the Moab Jeep Safari. In 1999 Craig went onto to compete in his first organised rock crawling event where he participated in Warn Rock Crawling Challenge and found his love for the competition scene.
Craig has since involved himself in the rockcrawling scene with absolute ferocity – he had a large part in organising 2000 UROC and, whilst doing so he was compelled to compete in the ARCA series.
In 2002 Craig used his expertise and experience to officially begin the first SuperCrawl event, an event which gained incredible exposure over the years and has since become a highly competitive event.
In 2003 the man known as the father of UROC made one of the toughest decisions in his life and sold the UROC organisation. Craig felt he had achieved his goal of bringing rock crawling to the forefront of the motor sports scene and he could now focus on competing in more rock crawling challenges.
In 2004 Craig competed in 9 UROC sanctioned events and one SXOR event with his 68 Willies Jeep Commando. Craig successfully managed to get 8 top 10 finishes including 4 visits to the podium winning a 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th position.
In 2005 Craig’s son Dallas joined Craig to become the spotter for the Craig Stumph Racing team. Dallas has been off-roading since the age of 8 and received a write up in a 2001 prime media off road publication as one of the best spotters that season.
All of the hard work paid off for Team Craig Stumph Racing in 2005 as they finished off the season with several podium finishes and a shelf full of trophies. The team has a huge commitment to excellence and always gives 110%.
Craig Stumph and Staun’s Internal Beadlocks
Earlier this year Craig took his vehicle the Super Commando to the August U4WDA summer convention in Richfield Utah where 150 trail vehicles participated in the convention and trail drive to test out the new man made rock crawling course. Craig and his team chose the ‘Crazy 8’ trail for its difficulty and competition type obstacles.
This year Staun is supporting the talents of Craig Stumph who is currently leading the UROC Extreme Nationals competition in the states with his vehicle decked out with the infamous Staun internal Beadlock system. Craig and Dallas made a clean sweep in this years UROC competition with 3 wins and a series title.
Craig began using the Staun range in early 2006 and has achieved outstanding success with the product. Of the Staun Internal Beadlocks Craig particularly like how they lock the bead onto both sides of the rim while preserving the good looks of their Mickey Thompson Classic II wheels. Craig stated that by using the Staun Internal Beadlocks they have a competitive advantage over the rest of the competitors as they are able to run the correct air pressure for their tyres when driving in tough terrain while others are only able to lock one side of their tyre onto the rim.
Craig and Dallas frequently get asked how their vehicle can go through the tortures of rock racing and trail abuse without the use of bead locks, Craig says he smiles and tells them that they use Staun Internal Beadlocks because they lock both sides if the rim under any condition and allows them to run the correct air pressure for their tyres and rim combinations. Craig also likes that they are street legal and can be used in conjunction with their existing rims and tyres.
The Craig Stumph Racing Team finished the season off with a 67 point lead over their nearest challenger as the competition came to an end in Farmington New Mexico on 29th September.
The infamous team can next be seen in action in December at the illustrious SuperCrawl World Championships where they are sure to make their mark.
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