- Seven race‑prepped Land Rover Defenders compete in Defender Challenge by Bowler Dakar feeder series in Somerset
- Race2Recovery's Tony Harris and Richard Mitchell cross the line in first place in their maiden race
Minehead, Somerset, Monday 14th March 2014: Rally fans were treated to racing featuring one of the country's most iconic vehicles this weekend as the Defender Challenge by Bowler visited the Somerset Stages rally.
Seven drivers were behind the wheel of their Bowler‑modified Land Rover Defender vehicles for Round 2 of the series, which aims to provide a pathway for teams who aspire to compete in the toughest races in the world, such as the Dakar and the Africa Race. Tony Harris and his co‑driver Richard Mitchell ended the day victorious after battling through the tough forest‑based course of the Somerset Stages rally.
The 132 mile route saw teams race from Minehead through the woodlands of Exmoor National Park. Across 12 stages the drivers were able to put their cars to the test, including tarmac and loose gravel forest stages.
Spectators watching along the course were treated to all the thrills of rallying and were able to watch the popular Race2Recovery team compete in their first race of the Defender Challenge by Bowler series. As the world's only disabled rally team, Race2Recovery was originally set up to enable injured soldiers with their rehabilitation and to inspire other people who may be ill or injured. The team went on to become the first ever disabled team to compete in, and complete, the Dakar rally and their entry into this new race series has been made possible by their long‑term sponsor, Land Rover.
Speaking at the finish line, Race2Recovery's Tony Harris said: "It's been a great day, I'm absolutely delighted with our first outing and to come home in first place; it was the perfect start to our Defender Challenge campaign. Rich's co‑driving has been good, and he's picked up a few learning points. The tarmac stage was interesting and was a first for me in the Defender. Our vehicle has been handling superbly, especially on the gravel and forest tracks. It's slippy, but not too slippy and there's been some long stretches to get up into sixth gear.
"The forest stages are very similar to stages on the Dakar. While these are much shorter, this is the perfect platform to build up confidence, not just for the drivers but offers good practice to the navigators. It's a great introduction for the co‑drivers to learn to read the pace notes/road book which is vital to Dakar."
Matt Mills, who joined the Defender Challenge for Round 2, commented on his maiden rally: "I am here to simply enjoy myself and it's something I've always wanted to do. I would like to progress and am hoping to do some international rally raids in the future. I learnt to drive in a Defender and have owned many over the years; it's nice to take the Defender to the next level. I have learned a lot this morning and am really enjoying it."
Speaking at the service centre, Drew Bowler, Managing Director of Bowler Motorsport, said: "The series is working really well in that the competitors who were with us at Round 1 are already building their confidence. They're self‑sufficient, they're not so nervous, and they've sorted their own administration. It is absolutely what the Defender Challenge is about; they're building their confidence out on stage too and there's a good competitive edge coming in ‑ these are customers who wanted to be in motorsport but weren't sure how to go about it, so to see these results so early on is fantastic."
Across the remaining five rounds, competitors will face a demanding blend of hill rallies and stage rallies spread across South Wales, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire and Dorset, before the final round takes place in Scotland in mid‑November. Entrants will also have the option of competing in additional rallies in Europe and North Africa alongside the Bowler Works team.
More teams are set to be added ahead of the third race of the series, with a total of up to 15 cars due to compete in this year's series. Each team must take part in a minimum of five of the seven rounds, with their top five placings counting towards the final standings.
People wishing to find out more information about the Defender Challenge by Bowler should visit: www.bowlermotorsport.com. Updates during the race can be found on the @LandroverUKPR twitter feed.
Defender Challenge by Bowler results from Round 2:
| Position | Car | Driver | Co‑Driver | Time |
| 1 | 79 | Tony HARRIS | Richard MITCHELL | 0:59:44 |
| 2 | 77 | Damien TAFT | Simon TAFT | 1:00:10 |
| 3 | 60 | Robert HARFORD | Jonathan HARFORD | 1:01:39 |
| 4 | 81 | Matt MILLS | Jon CHESTER | 1:06:07 |
| 5 | 78 | Simon ARMSTRONG | Aynslie MORROW | 1:06:56 |
| 6 | 76 | Richard HAYWARD | Matthew LISTER | 1:07:10 |
| 7 | 80 | Stephen RICHARDS | Kevin HANDLEY | 1:08:46 |
‑ENDS‑
CONTACTS
LAND ROVER PR CONTACT: Kim Palmer kpalmer@landrover.com 07795 666 169
PR CONTACT: Jim Williams, Fast Track jim.williams@fasttrackagency.com 07814 068349
NOTES TO EDITORS
Defender Challenge by Bowler race schedule:
| 2 March | Mid Wales Stages, Newtown, Wales |
| 12 April | Somerset Stages, Minehead, Somerset |
| 7 June | Dukeries Rally Southwell, Nottinghamshire |
| 19/20 July | Welsh Hill Rally Walters Arena, Swansea |
| 30 August | Woodpecker Stages Ludlow, Shropshire |
| 24/25 October | Rallye Sunseeker Poole, Dorset |
| 22/23 November | Borders Hill Rally Dumfries, Scotland |
About the Defender Challenge by Bowler:
The Defender Challenge by Bowler is a one‑make rally series operated by Bowler Motorsport designed to act as a feeder series to the annual Dakar rally and other global rally competitions.
Continuing the strategic partnership announced in 2012 between Land Rover and Bowler Motorsport, the Defender Challenge will see competition‑prepared Land Rover Defenders being used in a one‑make, seven round, rally series taking place across the UK. The series will be regulated by the MSA (Motor Sports Association) and each Defender Challenge car will be FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) compliant enabling competitors to compete internationally.
The ultimate aim of the series is to provide a route for teams to progress to top rally raid competitions such as the Dakar and the Africa Race, a pathway previously non‑existent for drivers and teams aspiring to compete in the world's toughest races. Competing in the Defender Challenge by Bowler are drivers with experience of races such as the Dakar, the Dubai Desert Challenge, and drivers for whom this will be their first stage rally. For Damien Taft, this was his first motorsport event since representing the UK in the 1994 Camel Trophy. In addition, Richard Hayward is a previous Dakar competitor and a second place finisher in the former London‑Dakar race. Other drivers, such as Steve Richards and Andrew Wicklow, were racing in their first ever stage rally event, both with the aim of developing their skills and gaining the required license to compete in the Dakar.
All competitors drive Bowler‑prepared Land Rover Defender 90 vehicles that have been expertly modified for safety, performance and durability. The modifications to the competing Land Rover Defender 90 vehicles include a full MSA / FIA certified roll cage, fire extinguisher system, racing seats and harnesses, light‑weight Bowler wheels, a full Bowler racing suspension system with bespoke springs and heavy duty racing dampers and an engine tune to 175hp that delivers 450Nm of torque.
The Defender Challenge is a 'class' within existing rally events where total entries of all classes will be between 80 and 130 cars (including the Defender Challenge cars). These events vary in distance and duration, but all will give the team (driver, navigator, service crew) an introductory experience of national level motorsport. Completion of the series will gain the driver their National B rally license, and attendance at some of Bowlers' overseas races will allow this to be converted into the International license required for events such as the Dakar.
About Land Rover:
Land Rover is supporting the Defender Challenge by Bowler series. Since 1948 Land Rover has been manufacturing authentic 4x4s that represent true breadth of capability across the model range. Defender, Freelander, Discovery, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover and Range Rover Evoque each define the world's 4x4 sectors. Land Rover products are currently sold in approximately 180 global markets.
About Bowler Motorsport:
Bowler is a market leader in the production of racing and high performance all‑terrain vehicles, and has been since 1985. The UK pioneers in Rally Raid cars, Bowler has continually competed at the highest levels and, during this time, has designed, developed and produced some of the most innovative, durable and exciting all‑terrain vehicles ever seen.
The Bowler Wildcat, Nemesis and now the EXR have all been proven in the toughest race in the world ‑ the Dakar. Each evolution of Bowler has refined the knowledge and experience gained from the previous one.
Based in Derbyshire in the UK, Bowler uses both technology and craftsmanship to deliver vehicles with style, strength, performance and an unrivalled spirit of adventure.
About the Dakar Rally:
The Dakar, an incomparable human adventure whose history has been built in the finest deserts of the planet, is amongst the major sporting challenges of our era. Both a race and a test of navigational skills, it involves not only the leading riders and drivers of the rally raid discipline, but also amateur competitors, who often take part to make their dream come true or to rise to a challenge, behind the handlebars or steering wheel of their bike, quad, car or truck. Fifty nationalities come together each year for this mixture of competition and solidarity whose television coverage is seen by a billion viewers in 190 countries.
The Dakar Rally (or simply 'The Dakar', formerly known as 'The Paris‑Dakar') is an annual Dakar Series rally raid off‑road race, organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. The race originated in 1978, a year after racer Thierry Sabine got lost in the desert and decided that it would be a good location for a regular rally event. Originally, the rally was from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal. However, due to politics and other factors, the course, including origin and destination, has varied over the years. After cancellation of the rally in 2008, the 2009 Dakar Rally was run in South America (Argentina and Chile) ‑ the first time the race took place outside of Europe and Africa. It has stayed in South America since 2009. The race is open to amateur and professional entries with amateurs typically making up about 80% of participants.
Despite its name it is an off‑road endurance race, called a rally‑raid rather than a conventional rally ‑ the terrain the competitors traverse is much tougher and the vehicles used by teams and individuals are true off‑road vehicles rather than the modified on‑road vehicles used in rallies. The majority of the competitive special sections are off‑road, crossing dunes, mud, camel grass and rocks among others.
The recent Dakar 2014 course stretched over 9000km of the world's toughest terrain, beginning in Rosario, Argentina on 5th January, with the course winding north through Argentina, into Bolivia and finishing in Valparaiso, Chile on 18 January.
