Rentsch Racing Returns to the Top

Warnambool’s Shannon and Ian Rentsch claimed their fourth Australian Championship when they finished first on the podium at the recent Albins Off Road Gear Goondiwindi 400, the sixth and final round.  Victory was sweet as this was the win that sealed the Australian Championship.

The 2008 campaign wasn’t all plain sailing, the team not completing two of the six rounds.

It was the Easter long weekend and competitors converged on the township of Hyden in Western Australia for round one.  Conditions were treacherous when a storm blew in Saturday afternoon and turned a dustbowl into a mud bath.  Shannon and Ian didn’t have a good run along the 50km stretch to Hyden, they made good time on the way back which kept them at the pointy end of the field.  Day two saw competitors David Fellows and Andrew Kittle in the TRD Jimco break down with one lap to go.  Shannon and Ian were in P2 at the time and hung on for win. 

The second round was staged in the town of Donald, Victoria May 3&4, a track known for its high speed and long straights; cold temperatures made for fast times.  Initially behind the Toyota Racing Development team of Fellows and Kittle, Rentsch Racing chased down the lead and were winning at the time when forced to retire 200km into he race with a broken axle.

After a disappointing DNF for round two, the team were keen to meet a green at round three; setting sight on a strong finish at the Tattersall’s Finke Desert Race June 7-9.  Prologue did not go according to plan, a broken gear box put them back in the start order but they were seeded sixth for the run down to the Apatula community at Finke.  Again weather came into the equation and many competitors anticipated trouble in the wet.  Not so for Rentsch Racing, they clocked third fastest time down the 227km run and advanced to start from P3 for the run back to Alice.

“The track was the best it’s ever been,” said Shannon.

SOURCE | Media Release Shanno Rentsch Oct 30 | 2008