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Taupo 1000: Putting the pieces in place
Preparing your race truck for the Taupo 1000 is only part of the battle. You then have to ship it 6000 miles from California to New Zealand. And ship the spares, tires and pit equipment, too.
Preparing your race truck for the Taupo 1000 is only part of the battle. You then have to ship it 6000 miles from California to New Zealand. And ship the spares, tires and pit equipment, too. And find a local crew. And source hotel rooms. And deal with customs and the race officials. And try and learn as much about the event in advance as possible. It’s a long to-do list, but it’s the price you pay to go racing.
“In the past, I’ve really just shown up and raced,” says Ryan Millen, entrant and driver of one of two FJ Cruisers taking on the Taupo 1000, “so handling everything else – the planning, the logistics – has been a thrash, but kind of fun. I don’t usually look too far ahead, so working out schedules, knowing we had to get our FJ in a container and on a boat on a specific day was pressure.”
That shipping date is key to everything. Air freighting an FJ Cruiser and spares from California to New Zealand is frighteningly expensive, so building in more than three weeks for the sea journey from Long Beach, Calif., to Auckland, New Zealand, means the race truck has to be finished way ahead of the actual early September race date.
Millen’s FJ was finished in early August, and had a brief shakedown in the desert near Barstow, Calif. After rectifying a couple of minor problems, it had to be steam-cleaned to comply with New Zealand agricultural regulations (dirt and mud can bring in bugs and diseases).
“Arranging the shipping is relatively simple, and the shipping company handles most of the paperwork – which is a huge relief…” says Millen. “I guess it helps that Dad’s from New Zealand, and he often ships things back there. The container turned up Friday, we loaded it Saturday and Sunday, they picked it up Monday and off it went. Next stop, Auckland. It must have been a good voyage, because it ended up getting there a week earlier than I expected.”
Accompanying the FJ were two sets of BFGoodrich tires – one each of mud-spec and all-terrain – and an inventory of spares.
“I took everything I thought I might possibly need,” says Millen. “I didn’t take a spare engine, or a transmission and transfer case. Those things are more than robust enough. Mainly I took electrical components, spare ECU, front diff, rear and associated links, A-arms, shocks. I think I put a spare clutch in, too, but that was never really a concern – just a peace-of-mind thing.”
Millen arrived in New Zealand a week before the race, collected his truck and spares from the docks in Auckland and trailered them to his Dad’s farm, which is about a four-hour drive from Taupo. At the farm, a short, sharp test run was followed by checking and rechecking every nut and bolt. Then the FJ was loaded on the trailer again and driven to Taupo the Thursday before the race.
As well as the truck, there was the small matter of getting people in place. Millen brought three people from the U.S., including his navigator Adam Dupre, and recruited the rest of the crew locally – friends, family and guys his dad recommended.
“We assembled a great group of guys,” says Millen, “but it was full-on sorting out hotels, airfares, cars, and stuff like that. Sometimes I’d think, ‘this isn’t going to happen.’ But when it all works out, and you know it was down to you making it happen, it’s very satisfying. Before qualifying began on the Friday, it was amazing to think how much we’d already achieved in just two months. Now it was time to go racing.”
“In the past, I’ve really just shown up and raced,” says Ryan Millen, entrant and driver of one of two FJ Cruisers taking on the Taupo 1000, “so handling everything else – the planning, the logistics – has been a thrash, but kind of fun. I don’t usually look too far ahead, so working out schedules, knowing we had to get our FJ in a container and on a boat on a specific day was pressure.”
That shipping date is key to everything. Air freighting an FJ Cruiser and spares from California to New Zealand is frighteningly expensive, so building in more than three weeks for the sea journey from Long Beach, Calif., to Auckland, New Zealand, means the race truck has to be finished way ahead of the actual early September race date.
Millen’s FJ was finished in early August, and had a brief shakedown in the desert near Barstow, Calif. After rectifying a couple of minor problems, it had to be steam-cleaned to comply with New Zealand agricultural regulations (dirt and mud can bring in bugs and diseases).
“Arranging the shipping is relatively simple, and the shipping company handles most of the paperwork – which is a huge relief…” says Millen. “I guess it helps that Dad’s from New Zealand, and he often ships things back there. The container turned up Friday, we loaded it Saturday and Sunday, they picked it up Monday and off it went. Next stop, Auckland. It must have been a good voyage, because it ended up getting there a week earlier than I expected.”
Accompanying the FJ were two sets of BFGoodrich tires – one each of mud-spec and all-terrain – and an inventory of spares.
“I took everything I thought I might possibly need,” says Millen. “I didn’t take a spare engine, or a transmission and transfer case. Those things are more than robust enough. Mainly I took electrical components, spare ECU, front diff, rear and associated links, A-arms, shocks. I think I put a spare clutch in, too, but that was never really a concern – just a peace-of-mind thing.”
Millen arrived in New Zealand a week before the race, collected his truck and spares from the docks in Auckland and trailered them to his Dad’s farm, which is about a four-hour drive from Taupo. At the farm, a short, sharp test run was followed by checking and rechecking every nut and bolt. Then the FJ was loaded on the trailer again and driven to Taupo the Thursday before the race.
As well as the truck, there was the small matter of getting people in place. Millen brought three people from the U.S., including his navigator Adam Dupre, and recruited the rest of the crew locally – friends, family and guys his dad recommended.
“We assembled a great group of guys,” says Millen, “but it was full-on sorting out hotels, airfares, cars, and stuff like that. Sometimes I’d think, ‘this isn’t going to happen.’ But when it all works out, and you know it was down to you making it happen, it’s very satisfying. Before qualifying began on the Friday, it was amazing to think how much we’d already achieved in just two months. Now it was time to go racing.”
Click here for more on the Two Roads to the Taupo 1000 on SPEED!
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