Back-to-back Pines Enduro champions

Brown & Apted conquer the Millicent pines for a second successive year

Danny Brown and George Apted #42 (Top) have gone back to back at the Teagle Excavations ARB Pines Enduro 400 after a dominant Sunday in Millicent – the same day Brent Martin and Andrew de Simone #1 (pictured below) captured a third ARB Australian Off Road Racing Championship title.

Brown launched out of the blocks in another Pines masterclass, starting from the back of the grid the two time ARB Australian champion stormed to a 59 second lead at the completion of lap one, and from there was never headed in the teams Nissan TT powered Alumi Craft; cruising to a powerful 3.23 min triumph.

2013 Pines champion Carl Haby and Chloe Roehr #56 in their Element Prodigy completed six treacherous laps of the iconic Mount Burr forest second fastest, in what was another superb Haby performance. Capitalising on a late flat tyre to fellow South Australians Andrew and Fletcher Murdock #1166, Haby crossed a mere 28.5 seconds ahead of the Murdock father and son crew, who rounded out the podium in a career high result.

Putting an exclamation mark on another remarkable season highlighted by a victory at Hillston, Brent Martin and Andre de Simone #1 saluted the chequered flag in fourth. Rewarded for their emphatic consistency, the Victorians secured a third ARB Australian outright and Class 1 crown, and became the first to do so in consecutive years; surviving a gallant David Middlemiss #117 and Matt Burrows #123 for 2023 supremacy.

The NSW father and daughter crew of Steven and Ella Graham #1065 finished fifth outright for an extraordinary third time in 2023, the Class 10 Alumi Craft campaigners also left Millicent with ARB Australian championship and Pines class honours.

Adam Bierl and Nyree Burmingham #35 in their Chev powered Jimco rounded out the Ultimate Class podium in sixth; whilst David and Alice Middlemiss #117 closed out a fantastic 2023 campaign in seventh, and in doing so wrapped up second place in both the ARB Australian outright and Class 1 Championship.

Class 11 runners up Trevor Chandler and Connor Corrigan #1111 crossed in eighth, ahead of defending ARB Australian Ultimate Class champions Craig and Megan Barnett #68, with Rod and Kodi Visser #1057 who finished second in Class 10 rounding out the Pines top ten.

In other class results from the 2023 Pines Enduro 400, Brendan Forssman and Leigh Whitehand #274 collected a maiden ARB round Class 2 victory, overcoming teammates Andrew and James Forssman #279 who crossed in second, and Peter and Jake Stevenson #248 in third.

Queenslanders Jamie Knight and Lachlan Brosnan #439 secured their second ARB Australian Class 4 championship, after an impressive victory at the Pines; outlasting Jason Forssman and Del Palmer #474, plus former ARB champions Peter Sibson and Jason Munro #412 in second and third respectively.

Jackson Evans and Sam Raper #635 debuted their new Polaris RZR Turbo S in style, claiming a maiden national Class 6 win; eventual ARB Australian class champions Matt Hummer and Aaron Lukschanderl #633 settled for second, whilst last years outright championship runners up Glenn Pike and Aidan Campagnolo #2 finished third.

The fight of the Class 7 Patrols was claimed by Darren and Damon Gill #760 who made it consecutive Pines triumphs, new ARB Australian class champions Heath and Michelle Weedon #779 secured second place, whilst newcomer Joel Kershaw and Charli Brugman #701 battled to third.

Matt Lavis and Andrew Dance #6684 finished their ARB Australian Class 66 championship winning season on a high by taking home the Millicent silverware; with Queensland’s Ross Newman and Joe Caldwell #6681 holding off Eden Evans and Tom Swinglehurst #6637 for second spot.

Owen Ward and Curtis Laidlaw #832 continued their love affair with the iconic South Australian event, taking home the Pines and ARB Australian Class 8 championship spoils, with Graeme Hicks and Karl Quast #812 piloting their V8 Landcruiser to second over the weekend.

ARB Australian Class 11 victors Darren Frankling and Rob Hackney #1110 battled hard on Sunday to snare the final spot on the Pines podium, likewise Joseph Patterson and Jason Gibbins #175 in Class 1, with James Tyrell #1036 in his single seater Jimco nailing down third place in Class 10.

After watching a number of notables fall away on Saturday including Brendan Payne #99, Shaun Klingberg #985, Dean Miller #408, Ken Holt #1058, Peter Makeham #1122 and Brock Pendlebury #201, Sunday’s attrition rate was just as high.

Three time Pines Enduro champion Matt Hanson #7 – power steering, Dale Martin #1125, Dean Carter #18 – engine, Darren Mott #435 – flat tyres, Kurt Stephan #133, Glenn Pike #2 – CV, Thomas Forssman #1071 – axle, Peter Stevenson #248 – gear selector, Eden Evans #6637, Andy Brown #1145, Andrew Mowles #135 – gear selector, Craig Krog #23, Todd Lehmann #1185, Gary Turnbull #1179, Mark Foster #411, Graham Symons #278 – axle, Sean Ratcliffe #1007 – brakes, Robert Gussenhoven #681, Stuart Zlotkowski #811, and Connor Cooper #729 – engine, all succumbed to the brutal Pines terrain during Sunday’s six lap section.

With the 2023 ARB Australian Off Road Racing Championship run and won for another season, a massive congratulations must go to the outright champions Brent Martin #1, David Middlemiss #117 and Matt Burrows #123 in podium order, and to all class winners who are listed below at the completion of four outstanding championship events.

None of the above would have been possible without the support of championship partners ARB 4×4 Accessories, Mickey Thompson Tires and Raceline Wheels, along with the governing bodies AORRA and AASA for their ongoing guidance and committee to the sport.

The 2023 Teagle Excavations ARB Pines Enduro 400 hosted by the Millicent Sand Buggy Club would not have been possible without the support of major sponsors Teagle Excavations, ARB 4X4 Accessories and Hards Transport Services, along with all the other incredible sponsors either small, large or inkind who assisted in so many ways.

The event’s live stream coordinated by the team at Screenshot Big Screens was another huge success, and can now be re-watched from start to finish on the Pines Enduro YouTube page.

Round 1 of the 2024 ARB Australian Off Road Racing Championship is set for the ARB Big Desert 480 in Rainbow, over the 22- 24 of March 2024.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DARREN ARCHIBALD (TURN8 PHOTOGRAPHY)