max*d Issue 01

max*d ISUZU UTE AUSTRALIA

ISSUE 1

BRIDLE TRACK

BASH high adventure in nsw’s central tablelands

The Finishing Line: 14 days in the furnace of the Dakar Rally

Unsung Heroes: Paraplegic dirtbike legend Isaac Elliott

Get Stuffed:

How to make the ultimate steak sanga

juniorISUZ124307

1Y ^RO VYXQ RK_V YX K ]SXQVO ^KXU Whether you’re working or weekending, the Isuzu D-MAX 3-litre turbo-diesel gets you there with a powerful mix of performance and economy, thanks to hyper-pressure common-rail diesel injection, variable geometry inter-cooled turbo… we could go on and on… but we’ll leave that to the D-MAX.

isuzuute.com.au

flashBack

1922:

ISUZU MoTorS’ ANTECEDENT CoMPANy ASSEMblES JAPAN’S fIrST PASSENgEr CAr – THE wolSElEy A9

The history of Isuzu Motors can be traced back to its earliest antecedent company: Tokyo Ishikawajima Shipbuilding & Engineering, established in 1889. In 1918, the company diversified into car-making, using capital amassed from its highly profitable shipbuilding business to launch a passenger-vehicle production joint venture with iconic British auto maker Wolseley. Four years later, Tokyo Ishikawajima began rolling out the Wolseley A9 – the first passenger car ever made in the land of the rising Sun. The vehicle proved immensely popular, even more so in its second year of production: when the 1923 Great kanto earthquake devastated Tokyo and the port city of Yokohama, automobiles such as the A9 demonstrated their potential to speed the pace of rescue and recovery following the disaster. The A9 was followed in 1924 by the first Japanese-built Wolseley CP 5-tonne payload truck, which went on to become the official military truck of the Imperial Japanese Government.

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contents

CON TENTS ISSUE 1

18 04 News of g in the world in What's happen alia tr us A Isuzu UTE

08 max tank fuel with our handy less Go longer on s tip eco-driving

11 tech headr workings of the

inne Exposing the l frame h as truck' stee ug D-MAX's 'to

ing line 12 the finishno Jon Thomson talks ur Motor sport jo Garland ar pilot Bruce to D-MAX Dak

ust 18 eat youraddeditor Ian Neubauer le Golden roads Track NSW's Bridle to es at m d an

eroes 26 unsung h tt tells ker Isaac Ellio bi Paraplegic dirt life stor y g in at in sc fa his

30

nal report 30 Internatbrioities and eight le Eight Asian ce as to the Himalay ad he Xs D-MA

ed 34 Get stuff how einer shows us th Chef Neil Got sanga timate steak ul e th e to mak

ies 36 accessormaximise the look

12 2

to Cool add-ons ur D-MAX yo of ty and utili

st 38 dealer Li-M AX dealers D Where to find ia al tr us across A

'n' sinker 40 hook, lineHunter' Burns ck Darran 'The Ja ng wisdom hi fis s shares hi

welcome

S Welcome to the first edition of max*d, the official magazine of Isuzu UTE Australia.

First, if you’re a new D-MAX buyer or lessee, thanks for your business. Second, if you’re still looking for a ute, thanks for your interest, you’re in the right place.

You may be asking yourself, "When did the Isuzu D-MAX range of utes come into the picture, and what exactly is Isuzu UTE Australia?"

Isuzu itself has been the top truck brand in Australia and abroad for a couple of decades now. What’s less known is that Isuzu Motors has also been building onetonne utes for much longer. Isuzu utes are real trucks, just more compact and refined for dual-purpose usage.

What’s changed of late is that Isuzu has decided to sell its latest one-tonner – the globally popular D-MAX – directly in Australia, and set up Isuzu UTE Australia to appoint its own dealer network, separate from Isuzu Trucks and most of its dealers.

Although fairly new here, the D-MAX is an extremely popular ute around the globe, especially in Thailand, the world’s biggest market for Japanese-designed onetonners, where D-MAX is the established number one seller. Thais buy more than three times as many utes as Australians, and work them to the bone. But why do the Thais prefer the D-MAX to utes built by the giant Japanese car-makers? Because they realise the D-MAX is a true premium ute with truck heritage engineering that offers rock-solid reliability and frugal fuel economy.

Thailand, incidentally, is where almost all the Japanesedesigned utes are assembled, including the D-MAX, which pioneered the move decades ago.

In this issue you’ll learn some new and interesting things about Isuzu UTE Australia and its heritage, plus read the adventure, motorsport and profile stories.

Enjoy! this image: dakar 'raider' bruce garland's d-max deep in the wilds of chile's atacama desert.

Hitoshi Kono Managing Director Isuzu UTE Australia

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news

If you can guess how far the D-MAX LS manual ute will tow a five-metre Haines Traveller with a Suzuki DF70 outboard motor on a single tank -- then they could all be yours! Visit isuzuute.com.au for terms and conditions.

isuzu ute prospers in GFC

Isuzu UTE Backs Fatality Free Friday Every day, an average of 5.3 Australians lose their lives on our roads. It’s a shameful statistic – one that Isuzu UTE Australia dedicated itself to help reduce when it became a principal sponsor of Fatality Free Friday (FFF), a national road-safety initiative established in 2007.

This year targeting Friday May 28, FFF aims to make drivers think consciously about road safety for just one day of the year and bring that day’s road toll down to zero. FFF is a call to action; a proactive approach to road safety that involves drivers, their families and communities at large, prompting road users

everywhere to behave safely and responsibly.

“We are supportive of FFF as the group understands the importance of prevention when it comes to road safety,” said Isuzu UTE Australia General Manager – Marketing and Public Relations, Richard Power.

“Airbags, anti-lock braking systems, crumple zones and other safety systems that come standard with a D-MAX can be real life savers, but an initiative like this helps prevent drivers from reaching the point where they need them.”

To learn more about this worthy initiative, visit fatalityfreefriday.com.

Lady in red From May 2010, all D-MAX SX and LS models sold in Australia will be available in a new metallic colour – Tornade Red*. *Extra charges apply.

*

Did you know?

D-MAX owners who initiate the sale of another D-MAX by sharing their positive experiences are entitled to a $200 Buddy Bonus (see your Isuzu UTE dealer for terms and conditions).

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New dealers signed Isuzu UTE’s national dealership network has expanded to 62 following the recent additions of Port Augusta Isuzu UTE in South Australia and Isuzu UTE Territory in Alice Springs.

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Sales of D-MAX utes for 2009 ran close to target despite one of the toughest years on record for Australian car dealers as a result of the now-cooling global financial crisis (GFC).

Isuzu UTE Australia sold 3566 D-MAX utes and cab chassis in the 12-month period ending December 31, 2009, with private and small business buyers accounting for 65% of sales. In a segment traditionally dominated by corporate and fleet buyers, the result highlights the range’s popularity among fuel-frugal tradespeople and farmers.

The 4x4 LS-U and 4x2 LS proved to be the two most popular utes in the D-MAX range, both of which come equipped with cruise control, colour-matched front bumper, wheel arch flares, chrome rear step bumper, alloy wheels, side steps, electronic foldin g door mirrors, lockable tailgate and high-ride suspension.

“We launched the D-MAX range at the worst time possible,” said Isuzu UTE Australia managing director, Hitoshi Kono. “But it’s succeeded.”

Did you know?

The D-MAX’s dual front airbags have internal tethers to optimise their shape when inflated and provide maximum occupant protection.

4(% 5,4)-!4% 30/243 2)" NOW IN AUSTRALIA

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news

30

Did you know?

Nearly 30 years elapsed between the development of common rail fuel injection technology in the 1960s and its successful application in a production car.

dates FOR THE DIARY

Brisbane 4x4 Show

The Isuzu UTE stand was a hive of activity at the sixth annual Brisbane Tinnie and Tackle Show and National 4x4 and Outdoors Expo in March.

Featuring the Max Run Challenge Isuzu D-MAX and Haines Boat giveaway, Isuzu UTE staff spent half the weekend answering the $80,000 question: “How far will it tow the boat on a single tank?” The event was the biggest in the show’s history, with more than 35,000 people passing through the gates of the RNA Showgrounds and more exhibitors than ever before.

With the Brisbane show being such a success, Isuzu UTE is doubly looking forward to the Melbourne National 4x4 and Outdoors Expo in September.

Publisher Isuzu UTE Australia Pty Ltd Managing Editor Richard Power

MAY 6-8 AG FEST Launceston 14-16 National Tradesman’s Expo Adelaide 14-16 Adelaide Ute Show Adelaide 18 NRMA Business Wise Fleet Drive Day Sydney

d-Max stars at motor shows, field days Like the utes they sell, the staff at Isuzu UTE love getting out there and seeing this wide brown land.

And while this is often manifested in road journeys and roughing it offroad, it also includes appearances at rural field days and a number of big city motor shows.

The ball was set in motion at the 2008 Australian International Motor Show in Sydney, where Isuzu UTE Australia and the D-MAX range of utes and cab chassis were officially launched. IUA’s stand featured a rally-spec D-MAX that was successfully driven by Bruce Garland in the 2009 Dakar Rally (see story page 12); a number of D-MAX ute and cab chassis

Publishing Partner: Edge Custom Media EDITOR Ian Neubauer ian.neubauer@edgecustom.com.au SENIOR SUB EDITOR Sanchia Pegley

SUB EDITOR Merran White, Renata Ficek SENIOR EDITORS Georgina Armour, Edwina Lawry SENIOR DESIGNER Michelle D’Souza

models; and the Isuzu Cutaway Engine display.

In 2009, the stand resurfaced at the Melbourne International Motor Show and at the Henty Machinery Field Days in southern NSW, the Australian National Field Days in Orange and the Elmore and District Field Day in Victoria.

The first quarter of 2010 saw Isuzu UTE debut at the National Tradesman’s Expo in Sydney, and the National 4x4 and Outdoors Expo and National Tradesman’s Expo in Brisbane.

Isuzu UTE is also scheduled to make its first appearance at its hometown event, the Brisbane Motor Show, which is on from June 2-6, with a newly themed stand.

ACCOUNT DIRECTOR Sarah Willmott ADVERTISING SALES Peter Gilray peter.gilray@edgecustom.com.au COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Craig Hodges

Disclaimer: The information included in this magazine is intended for interest only. The opinions and views expressed in this magazine are provided in the writers’ personal capacities and are their sole responsibility. Their publication does not imply that they represent the views or opinions of Isuzu UTE Australia or Edge Custom Media and must neither be regarded as constituting advice on any matter nor be interpreted as such. The reproduction of advertisements in this publication does not in any way imply endorsement by Isuzu UTE Australia or Edge Custom Media of products or services referred to therein. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. A selection of the images featured in this publication have been sourced from Getty Images and Thinkstock Images. Business Essentials trading as Edge Custom Media ABN 22 062 493 869.

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june 2-6 Brisbane Motor Show Brisbane 4-6 National Tradesman’s Expo Melbourne 17-19 PRIMEX Field Days Casino 18-20 National Tradesman’s Expo Perth

JULY 16-18 Farm Fantastic Field Days Caboolture 27-29 QLD Mining & Engineering Exhibition Mackay

max*d is published on behalf of Isuzu UTE Australia Pty Ltd by

51 Whistler Street, Manly NSW 2095 T +61 (0) 2 8962 2600

max*d magazine is proudly printed in Australia using renewable resources. Pacesetter Coated is an FSC Mixed Sources Certified paper, which ensures that all virgin pulp is derived from well-managed forests and controlled sources. It contains elemental chlorine free bleached pulp and is manufactured by an ISO 14001 certified mill.

SGS-COC-003898

juniorISUZ24306

One D-MAX. One Boat. One tank of fuel. Here’s the challenge.

Guess how far the economical yet powerful turbo-diesel Isuzu D-MAX LS 4x2 manual ute tows this five-metre Haines Traveller fibreglass powerboat with Suzuki outboard on one tank and the lot could be yours.

ENTER VIA ISUZUUTE.COM.AU AND WHILE THERE, MAXIMISE YOUR CHANCE BY CHECKING D-MAX’S FORM GUIDE. The Prize: Isuzu D-MAX LS 4x2 crew ute, Haines Traveller TC165 with Bimini, Suzuki DF70 4-stroke outboard, safety gear and Dunbier trailer, approximate retail value $80,400.

Value includes ute/boat/trailer registrations, dealer delivery and statutory charges which may vary across states and territories. Full terms & conditions on isuzuute.com.au Competition closes 11.59pm AEST, 25th April, 2010. SA Permit No: T10/13, Vic Permit No: 10/7, ACT Permit No: TP 10/00020.1, NSW Permit No: LTPS/10/00140.

Spirit of Truck

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max tank

smell of an oily rag motorinG identity and futurist hans tholstrup drove an isuzu d-max 1,716km on a sinGle tank. here’s the story of the eccentric dane and his Quest for fuel fruGality

Ask Hans Tholstrup to tell you his life story and he’ll altogether skip his childhood in Denmark, where he grew up as a member of one of Europe’s best-known old-money families. life for Hans as he remembers it kicked off in 1965, when the then 18-year-old backpacked to Darwin to work as a jackaroo. In the decade that followed, he flew around the world solo without navigational aids after sitting a 10-day learn-to-fly course. He was the first person to cross Australia from east to west in a 4WD. He broke the record for the fastest motorbike circuit around the world and raced in the Bathurst 1000 three times.

Hans’ petrol-headedness came to an end during the oil crisis of 1973, when he realised he’d been a huge consumer of fossil fuels. From that moment onwards Hans was a changed man, dedicating the next 30-odd years to renewable energy. He created the world’s first solar-powered car in 1981

HANS forDS bEllAlIE CrEEK IN SoUTH wEST QUEENSlAND

“...diesel cars can outperform hyBrids in the fuel-efficiency stakes every time.”

– HAnS THOLSTRUP and drove it from Perth to Sydney. He even took a solar-powered boat trip from Darwin to Japan – but had to bail out after an encounter with pirates.

Hans is now an expert on economic driving and a poster boy for high-tech diesel engines. In 2006, he towed a caravan from Sydney to Melbourne in a Hyundai turbo-diesel 4WD SUv on one tank of fuel, achieving 8.92 litres per 100 kilometres over the course of the 875-kilometre trip. And at Easter last year, he drove a D-MAX 3.0-litre crew ute from the Burke & Wills roadhouse in Far North queensland

to the spot where the explorers died in South Australia in 1861 – a distance of 1,716 kilometres^ – on a single 76-litre diesel tank.

“If we want to have a sustainable future, we must press for renewable energy,” he said.

“But in the meantime we must use the most frugal engines available, which are diesel, not hybrid. If driven intelligently, high-tech diesel cars can outperform hybrids in the fuel-efficiency stakes every time. They represent the more economical and cleaner form of transport.”

This Max Run's very long distance on one tank was achieved by an expert driving for maximum economy at mostly less-than-posted speeds on mostly low-traffic roads. At closer to normal motoring modes, the D-MAX SX 4x2 Crew Ute's run-to-empty range based on its ADR 81/02 fuel consumption figure for combined urban and highway usage would be approximately 925km. You can approach, achieve or better this figure depending on driving style, traffic conditions, terrain traversed, loads and occupants generally carried, weather, vehicle condition, accessories fitted and other variables. For prudence and safety, refuelling soon after the low fuel warning light illuminates is recommended, but this will reduce the run-to-empty range described by up to 100km, again depending on all the variables mentioned.

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Diesel: The ‘green’ fossil fuel The debate between diesel and petrol engines has been gaining momentum since 1893, when German inventor Rudolf Diesel unveiled a three-metrehigh iron cylinder that generated power without a spark. Rather, it used compression to ignite and burn fuel, injecting it into the chamber at high pressure and causing it to combust.

Thus the diesel, or high-combustion engine, was born.

Modern diesel engines are much more efficient than their petrol equivalents. The D-MAX's 3.0 litre common rail, direct-injected turbo diesel engine typifies the comparison, producing more torque at lower engine revs while using about a third less fuel and emitting less carbon dioxide. The idling 'rattle' noise and soot emissions diesel engines were renowned for are now a thing of the past, such that their quietness and lack of smelly black smoke makes a vehicle powered by a high-tech diesel engine hard to pick out from a petrol-powered model.

Diesel engines are all about low-rev torque, while petrol engines are more about power produced at higher revs.

But torque, or pulling power, is more useful than power in everyday driving,

particularly for light commercial vehicles lugging loads or towing boats and caravans, or tackling tricky off-road conditions.

Why? Because diesel torque peaks in the lower rev ranges that are used more often in commuter driving, rather than at higher revs where maximum power is developed but where engine (and driver) stress is significantly higher. When heavily loaded or towing, a petrol engine becomes much more fuel-thirsty than an equivalent diesel.

Diesel engines generally also last much longer than petrol engines due to the ruggedness of their construction and lower revs used throughout their working lives. Diesels have more precise internal tolerances and are built tougher to withstand their higher compression ratios.

WHEN HEAVILY LOADED OR TOWING, A PETROL ENGINE BECOMES MUCH MORE FUEL-THIRSTY THAN AN EQUIVALENT DIESEL.

Eco-friendly driving tips GETTING MORE DISTANCE FOR YOUR DOLLAR IS EASY.

TIP 1: LIGHTEN UP! Dead weight is the enemy of fuel economy, so free your vehicle of anything you’re not using on the day. Utes with their big cargo areas are especially prone to lugging superfluous stuff left in the tray. And if you’ve a second set of wheels with more road-friendly tyres and you’re not off-roading, swap them over.

UTE TIP 3: KNOW YOUR RO TIP 2: RACK OFF! Roof racks, bike racks, ski racks, board racks, ladder racks, cross carry bars, top boxes… any type of roof fitting will increase fuel consumption, especially at highway speeds. Take them off if you’re not using them.

Find your destination and the shortest way to get there before you leave. Grappling with a street directory, map or sat nav while driving is highly distractive and hamstrings good fuel economy, while driving around looking for the right roads hikes up fuel use and stress.

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Call 131 779 or visit bestwestern.com.au and quote ‘Corporate ID 01494910’

u ’

tech head

BEING FRAMED d-max truck dna is no idle boast as a close look at its chassis reveals

below: D-MAX’s tough truck chassis frame features widespaced front rails and a unique k-brace under the rear load area right: other utES with shorter wheelbases couldn’t load this 2.5M crate

The primary purpose of DNA is to store genetic data – the ancestral code or blueprint that’s used to construct all living creatures and a bunch of viruses, too.

The D-MAX range of utes has its own version of DNA: a thing we call ‘Spirit of Truck’. It’s an ever-evolving series of blueprints born from the belly of Japan’s longest-established automotive manufacturer, Isuzu Motors.

Chief among the D-MAX’s trucklike features is its tough, ladder-frame chassis, on which the cab, drivetrain and suspension are mounted.

Depending on the model, a D-MAX frame features up to seven crossmembers: structural steel sections spanning across the underside of the vehicle to support key components, such as the engine and the transmission.

These include a unique K-brace double cross-member situated under the load area at the rear; a full-width cross-member under-support for the tail shaft; a cross-member that supports the fuel tank; and the large box-section area of the main frame rails.

Unlike all other one-tonne cab utes designed

in Asia, the D-MAX is offered in two different wheelbase lengths, catering for regular utes and cab chassis models – the latter requiring a longer frame.

The D-MAX cab chassis frame has a 150-millimetre longer wheelbase than the ute. This makes it the longest in its class at 3.2 metres, and gives it the longest cab-to-axle load space in its class. Consequently, when it comes to proportion of load length ahead of the rear axle compared to rear overhang, it’s the best in its class, giving it maximised loaded stability and balance.

The extra length is especially important in the crew cab chassis models, where the long cabin dictates that most of the load length will be rear overhang. True to its ‘Spirit of Truck’ heritage, Isuzu actually shortens the D-MAX crew cabs’ rear chassis extensions to discourage aftermarket suppliers from fitting too long a tray or another body type – thereby minimising potential for unstable handling.

Isuzu is the only manufacturer in its class to adopt such a responsible engineering path. It’s just one of many highly recognised features that justify the D-MAX’s global dominance in the one-tonne class.

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the finishing line

TANGO

TORTURE

TEST treacherous sand dunes, car-size ravines and oven-like heat were just some of the obstacles Bruce Garland’s D-MAX took on at the Dakar rally

WORDS: jon thomson

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Iquique

Antofagasta

Copiapó La Serena

Fiambalá La Rioja San Juan

Córdoba Colón

Santiago

Buenos Aires

San Rafael Santa Rosa

magine driving out to the Dandenongs east of Melbourne, the Blue Mountains west of Sydney or Cunninghams Gap west of Brisbane and scaling sand dunes twice the height of the mountains in front of you. That’s what competitors in the Dakar Rally need to deal with throughout the 14-day torture test regarded as the world’s toughest – and roughest – motorsport event.

And if mountainous sand dunes don’t rattle you, there are car-breaking rocks, ravines and gullies deep enough to swallow a car whole, sheer cliffs and kilometre after kilometre of fesh fesh – a talcum powder-like dust similar to what Australians call ‘bulldust’. No one can imagine just how tough the Dakar is until they’ve tackled it. That’s the gospel according to Aussie Bruce Garland who, for two consecutive years, has shipped a pair of Isuzu D-MAX utes to Argentina for a two-car assault on the 8,500-kilometre marathon.

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the finishing line

Out of Africa

Previous page: surfing mountainous dunes in chile’s atacama desert BELOW: the d-max crews faced various challenges in argentina

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Dakar started in Europe and ran to Africa from 1978 until a terrorism threat forced the French organisers to relocate the rally to South America in 2009. But it is now very much at home in the vast remote wilderness of Argentina and Chile, racing over a course that takes in the driest place on earth, the Atacama Desert.

A veteran rally driver who cut his teeth as a mechanic with Colin Bond’s Australian Championship Ford rally team in the late 1970s, Bruce has become the most accomplished long-distance rally driver in Australia, with no less than five Australasian Safari wins and victory in the 1997 PlayStation Round Australia Trial under his belt.

Parlaying success at home to the gruelling Dakar is no easy task, however, and required enormous preparation.

Bruce’s intimate knowledge of how to prepare for cross-country rallying helped, as did his long association with Isuzu Motors. No one has driven more

competition kilometres in a D-MAX than this man has.

And while Bruce’s D-MAX was outwardly not too dissimilar from many of the front-running cars in the 2009 Dakar Rally, it still required a lot of prep work to ensure it would cope with this torture test.

“No one can understand how tough the Dakar is until you actually go out there into the Atacama Desert and experience it for yourself,” Bruce said. “The sand dunes are bigger, the fesh fesh is finer and the other big factor is the altitude.”

Ready to Rumble

In January 2009, Bruce and co-driver Harry Suzuki drove off the start ramp in Buenos Aires in the middle of a field of 188 other cars and more than 200 motorcycles, as well as 50-odd 10-tonne trucks with massive 16-litre diesel engines.

Immediately ahead lay more than a million cheering Argentineans, all desperate to take a look at the field of racers heading down the Avenue 9

BELOW: BRUCE executes a full-frontal assault on another monster dune

de Julio, a grand boulevard known as the Champs Élysées of Buenos Aires.

“The enormity of the crowd is almost beyond comprehension,” Bruce says.

“The police and army have a hell of a time keeping the crowds back as we drive out of town and it seems to go on forever.”

The 2009 Isuzu assault on the Dakar was an outstanding effort for Bruce and his small band of helpers, up against as they were, an array of factory-backed race teams from VW, BMW, Mitsubishi and Nissan. The vehicles these teams entered were space-frame race-engineered specials with little resemblance to their road-going namesakes.

But Bruce’s ride used the same steel body and ladder-frame chassis as a roadgoing D-MAX, albeit modified to meet mandatory safety requirements of the challenging event.

Despite starting mid-field, the Bruce Garland/Harry Suzuki D-MAX fought its way through the pack in the 2009 Dakar to drive over the victory dais in Buenos

Aires as first diesel ute, first amateur crew and an amazing 11th outright.

“We took a very conservative approach in 2009. It was our first tilt and we knew there would be a lot of attrition so we just kept plugging away, which netted a great result,” he says. “Every day, we knew we’d be bogged to the axle in a sand dune and would have to dig it out. It was a matter of staying calm and focusing on getting to the finish.”

If one discounts the factorysupported machines from the Dakar results in 2009, Bruce’s D-MAX was the first production-based machine to finish. Every vehicle that finished before his was a million-dollar big boy’s toy with a carbon fibre silhouette body shell mounted on a space-frame chassis with a full race engine.

the Cruellest of Blows

With the success of 2009 under his belt, Bruce set about assembling his second Dakar campaign for 2010. His original

“every day, we knew we would be bogged to the axle in a sand dune and would have to dig it out. ”

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the finishing line

...his team included a boat builder, a plumber, a panelbeater, a mechanic and even a cow cocky from Alice Springs...

top left: a second team from sweden piloted this rally d-max TOP right: one of the better ‘roads’ on the 8,500km circuit right: a moment of serenity while cresting a dunE far right: servicing the swedes’ D-max mid-race

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Dakar D-MAX had been hit from the rear during the Australasian Safari earlier on in the year and could not be raced again. So with only six weeks to go, Bruce’s team had to start building a rally-ready D-MAX from scratch.

Bruce jokes that his team included a boat builder, a plumber, a panelbeater, a mechanic and even a cow cocky from Alice Springs. It was hardly the research and development centre at NASA but between them they had decades of practical experience in motorsport engineering and, in particular, rallies and cross-country raids.

For the 2010 attack, the three-litre turbo-diesel production engine in Bruce’s D-MAX was further tuned, with torque up another 100Nm to 600Nm – 66 per cent up on standard – and an extra 20 kilowatts of power to peak at around 180 kilowatts – 50 per cent more than your road-going D-MAX. The Isuzu UTE effort started well, with Bruce benefiting from a much higher starting position courtesy of his outstanding 2009 result. It meant he was clear of many of the slower cars, which had slowed his progress in the early stages of the race the previous year.

But success was not to be. Despite his caution, the exacting preparations and a more powerful engine, the rally

D-MAX succumbed to the sort of domino toppling circumstances that can derail the best-laid plans.

After using one of the spare wheels strapped into the back of the ute to give support for jacking to clear a sand dune, Bruce took off, only to have one of the tyres come loose and destroy the D-MAX’s rear-mounted radiators, crushing not only the cooling device but his hopes of a finish. He was out of the event before the end of the first week despite leading the diesel ute class again during the first six days of competition.

The other D-MAX in the event driven

by Swedes Pelle Wallentheim and Olle Ohlsson was forced into retirement on the penultimate day of the event. They had pile-driven too hard into too many washaways, dislodged the snorkel, sucked sand into the turbo and kaput!

First place once again went to the VW Race-Touareg team, which threw about $100 million into the race. Bruce has spent around $400,000 – less than half of one per cent of what the Germans spent. “I reckon they’d spend more on soft drinks than we spent on our entire campaign,” Bruce laughs.

Despite the disappointing result, Bruce is still aiming for a top-10 finish and a return assault on the Dakar in 2011 – even on a soft drink budget.

PREPPING A D-MAX FOR DAKAR At Bruce Gar land’s Sydney workshop, a small team o f race enginee rs fi suspension an tted rally d Dakar D-MAX brakes to the in the six or so weeks prior to th being shipped e machine to Argentina.

A full rollove r cage was installed insi de the cab al ong with a pair o f special Rec aro carbon-fibre race seats an d six-point safe ty harnesses to ensure the crew’s safety if anything sh ould go wron g at high speed .

A range of al loy bash plate and guards w s ere bolted on to protect the un the engine an derside of d transmissio n, while an elab orate system of bars in the rear tray of th e ute fulfilled its duty as a rack for three spar e ty and other spar res, a jack es strapped down behind the cab. It also provided mounting for the large radiators, moved there from the ute’s front impact zone to keep engine temper at during long d ure down ays lugging over massive sand dunes at speeds of up to 160 kilomet res per hour in te mperatures approaching 60°C.

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eat your dust

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Golden

ROADS

One of the most important roads of the Gold Rush, the Bridle Track in central NSW is a camping, fishing and off-roading nirvana

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eat your dust

words: ian neubauer photos: ian neubauer, Matt Lowden & michelle d’Souza

hen Isuzu UTE Australia (IUA) asked me to put a D-MAX through its paces in serious off-road conditions at a place of my choosing, a number of far-flung destinations sprung to mind: the Simpson Desert; the Tasmanian Highlands; Kakadu. But time was of the essence and I didn’t have a week to spend coasting along boring highways just getting there and back.

Luckily, I didn’t have to, as my home state of NSW offers a complex network of old horse and carriage trails that were once the lifeblood of a colony driven by the discovery of gold. Constructed under trying conditions by prisoners and migrant labour in the 19th century, they tackled formidable terrain to connect towns and settlements that owed their very existence to gold.

The Bridle Track – a narrow ribbon of dirt that skirts sheer granite bluffs overlooking the Macquarie River – is among the best known of these. Stretching 60 kilometres north from Bathurst to the historic town of Hill End, it offers a beginner’s level 4WD track rich with history, secluded camp sites and absolutely pristine mountain scenery.

the great Escape

The concrete jungle of Greater Sydney is heaving with peak-hour morning traffic when we arrive at Dale Isuzu UTE in Greenacre.

My neighbour Malcolm and best mate Shlomi have come along for what promises to be

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previous page: The historic town of hill end at sun-up top left: shlomi takes a swing over the macquarie river bottom left: ian rustles up egg ‘n’ bacon sangas for breakfast below: Kicking up dust in the bush

a whopper of a long weekend, and are fully impressed with our ride: a just-outof-the-crate, top-of-the-line Isuzu D-MAX LS-U with high-rise suspension and automatic transmission.

Ten minutes later, we’re cruising down the Great Western Highway towards the base of the Blue Mountains. The escarpment that enclosed Sydney like an impenetrable prison until 1813 proves to be light work for the ute’s 3.0 turbo diesel donk, and it scampers up the incline with plenty of oomph to spare. I engage cruise control a few clicks past Katoomba, slide Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison into the CD player, sit back and relax as the rolling green hills and picturesque grasslands of the Central Tablelands come into view.

It’s just past midday when we hit Bathurst. Best known as home of the ‘great race’, Bathurst was a small frontier town until gold mania took hold of the region some 160 years ago, transforming it overnight into a bustling CBD that was headquarters to the Cobb & Co coach empire.

It’s also the last major pit stop before the Bridle Track, so we pull over for supplies: an Esky-full of steak and snags, greens we don’t intend to eat and later purposely leave out at night for magpies to steal, and a case of beer to ease the pain when said vegies are lost to the feathered scallywags. We also detour via the tourist information centre, where a fiver buys us a detailed map of roads and trails within Bathurst Regional Council and advice on the best camping sites on the track.

A 10-minute drive northwards takes us to Eglinton and the start of the Bridle Track, where a billboard warns of falling rocks, steep edges and inclines, floodways and flash flooding – the perfect ingredients for off-road driving! A few kilometres later, the bitumen subsides and we enter a surreal pastoral landscape in which jagged granite formations burst in thousands from the heath like teeth.

Half an hour later, we enter the Macquarie Valley, a deep canyon of Casuarina forests carved out of the

“...falling rocks, steep edges and inclines, floodways ... the perfect ingredients for off-road driving!” max*d

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eat your dust

main: coasting Along the Bridle track

mountain over aeons by the chocolatecoloured waters of the Macquarie River.

It was the last significant waterway found by early 19th-century explorers hunting for an inland sea – a quest that ended in disappointment for all, and eternity for those who wandered too far into the great expanse of outback Australia.

Getting into the swing of things, I engage the push-button 4WD, yet it’s not really needed. Though the trail thins out into a narrow winding road without guardrails that falls hundreds of metres to the floor of the valley, the surface is pretty flat. Yet a bit of rain would turn it into a perilous slip‘n’slide, and I feel assured knowing the D-MAX has a short front overhang for optimal manoeuvrability. Another great gadget

“...the trail thins out to a narrow winding road that falls hundreds of metres to the floor of the valley...”

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is the electronic side mirrors, which fold in at the push of a button so they won’t get scratched when the foliage closes in.

We set up camp in a patch of grassy land on the riverbank, and there’s no one else around other than the lads and me. A quick swim followed by beer and barbecued steak by the campfire kicks off what’s sure to be a great weekend.

Fang it!

We start the day with the breakfast of champions: bacon and eggs cooked on a skillet with charcoal toast and billy tea.

To work it off, we hike up to the top of the ridge, catching glimpses of kangaroos and countless bird species on the way. From the top, we see the Macquarie River rippling through the

bottom left: An old church in Hill end bottom RIGHT: Explore at your own pace next page: surging through the macquariE river

valley like a thin brown snake amid towering granite bluffs topped by fields sown with bright purple flowers.

It’s breathtaking to say the least.

By mid-morning, we’re back on the road. We pass a few other campsites, most of which are unoccupied even in summer, and make a number of shallow river crossings. A steep road takes us out of the valley and into Hill End, a one-horse town that became the largest inland settlement of NSW when a 286-kilogram gold nugget – the largest ever found – was discovered in nearby Hawkins Hill. At its peak, the main drag of Beyers Avenue was home to a mile of houses, with stone kerbs and drains, as well as 28 hotels. Today, there’s only one pub and a few hundred Hill Enders

to speak of, though they aren’t beyond striking up a conversation with blow-ins.

“People who come here either get bored and leave straight away or end up coming back again and again,” says Karyn, a lass who runs a small camping store. Karyn directs us to Rose Cottage, an idyllic country residence set on a hillock overlooking the back end of town. The landlady, Betty, serves us Devonshire tea with scones and homemade jam in her spring garden, and we spend the rest of the morning chatting about what life was like in Hill End when she was a child.

But enough of this airy-fairy stuff.

We came for the bushbashing and that’s exactly what we intended to do!

And while the Bridle Track isn’t all it’d

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Mudgee

eat your dust

HILL END

Eglinton Bathurst

Lithgow

Blayney

Fact file

been stacked up to be, our map shows a labyrinth of unsealed roads in the immediate area we’re eager to explore.

We plot out a circuit that takes us east along Dixons Long Point Road. The road is in good nick but by no means boring, rising and descending like a roller-coaster through seriously steep hills. I engage the 4WD and keep it on after we reach a foot-deep crossing of the Macquarie River. Safely across, we pull up for a swim and, as it’d been an hour or so since our last meal, toss a few snags on the barbie. Lunch consumed, we veer south onto Lookout Road, passing the historic site of Ophir, where Edmund Hammond Hargraves sparked the Australian Gold Rush following his discovery of payable gold here in 1851.

Two left turns take us to Root Hog Road, though it’s not so much a road as a rough-as-guts gash through suicidally steep hills that tip into the Macquarie Valley. I shift the D-MAX into low range and advance at baby-speed, expertly guided over man-sized ruts by my navigator Shlomi, who, in another life, did a comprehensive off-road driving course with the Israeli Army. Being a smartarse, Malcolm gets out and walks, and has to stop to let us catch up on several occasions. It takes the best part of an hour to cover the five-kilometre track and towards the end of it, there are no more than three tyres touching the ground at

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any one time. But the most challenging part is at the very end: a two-foot deep river crossing that’ll make or break us.

“Fang it!” Shlomi counsels me.

And that I do.

My heart races at the halfway mark and, for a moment, I think the water is too deep and we’ll be swept away and drown. But the D-MAX stays its course, powering through the murk and emerging triumphant on the far side. The episode proves she’s no lipstick 4WD. She’s a hardcore ute bred from a family of trucks, put together by the makers of one of the most proven diesel engines in the world.

Homeward Bound

GETTING TH

The Bridle Trac ERE: k takes about 90 minutes to complete on a straight run approached n . It can be ort Mudgee via H h from ill End Road, or south from Eglington (10 minutes nort h of Bathurst) via Duraman a Road.

WHERE TO S

TAY: There are a d ozen free cam p sites along th eB Bring your ow ridle Track. n firewood and drinking water. For tho se seeking added comfort, the Royal Hotel (0 2 6337 8261) in Hill End off ers rooms fro m $40 per night.

It’s mid-morning when we wake up, slightly hungover after a late night WHAT TO D around the campfire, though it’s nothing O R ose Cottage (0 : an egg ‘n’ bacon sanga can’t cure.

2 6337 8304) sits on the co We spend the morning swimming rner R oad and Germ of Warrys and fishing in a weir flanked by antown Lane, Hill End towering bluffs. There are supposed . Scones with tea or coffee to be big trout here, though we’re not are available o n weekends fo overly fussed when the only thing we r $5 a head.

Phone reserv catch is a few zzzs under the sun. ations are mandatory. H A few hours from now, we’ll be on istory Hill (02 6337 8222 our way back to the big smoke, with ; www. hillend.com.a all the pressures and responsibilities u) on Hill End Road is a livin our lives there entail. But for now, g history museum cate we’re three mates camping in the ring to famili es and school g roups, with bush, roughing it but not really, blacksmith dis thanks to a hardy Japanese ute that plays, an underground never missed a beat. mine and an

old steam engine am gold-era attrac ong other tions.

D n’t take the call be on the ball.

Fatality Free Friday, 28 May 2010 Each time you get behind the wheel, be mindful of safe driving.

Take the pledge, and make it a Fatality Free Friday, 28 May 2010.

Every year, around 1600 people die on Australia’s roads. By far the most dangerous days – those which statistically suffer the most deaths – are Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Road safety is a complex issue but we believe that if drivers consciously think about road safety and safe driving for just one Friday in the year, that day’s toll – statistically about 5.3 deaths, could be reduced to zero. That’s our aim, not a single road death in Australia for just one day.

For more information and to take the pledge visit www.fatalityfreefriday.com

Fatality Free

FRIDAY MAKE THE ROAD TOLL ZERO

Proudly Supported by Isuzu UTE Australia

unsung heroes

c a a s i d i k k c a B e m o c e th

t t o i l l e leG t parap s ir f e h as t history s e k a lia m austra e alice in h t t n m e o v r e ad sman f n off-ro a a draft in e ik otorb race a m

worDS: IAN NEUBAUEr

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ic to

H

e looked no different from the 10 other dirtbikers who’d torn into the grounds of the klibur Domin rehabilitation centre in East Timor, pulling wheelies and powerslides for the amusement of staff, their patients and a few hundred locals who’d turned up for the show.

But when the other riders came to a halt, he coasted into the arms of two support personnel, who held the bike steady before picking the rider up and placing him in a wheelchair. “It’s amazing,” local Domingas Soares said at the time. “When a person gets injured here, it’s the end of their life. But this guy can’t walk and he still rides a bike.”

The guy’s name was Isaac Elliott, a 23-year-old draftsman and dirtbike fanatic from Alice Springs who broke his back in a bike crash two years beforehand. But instead of fading slowly into the night, Isaac got straight back on his bike and began competing again.

Earlier last year, he caught the eye of the rFDmx team, a group of young Aussie dirtbikers who visit East Timor every year for a three-day series of events geared to inspire and entertain

the people of that impoverished nation.

“The most impressive thing about Isaac was the way he rode his bike,” says rFDmx coordinator Joe Sheppard. “He didn’t let his accident slow him down one bit.”

Isaac was chuffed when Joe asked him to join the team in East Timor and, though he’d never spoken publicly, agreed to say a few words at klibur Domin: “ I crashed my motorbike and hurt myself, and that is why I’m in a wheelchair. Since then I have modified my bike so I can still do motocross. And I think you people can do anything you put your mind to, no matter what anyone else thinks.”

cornered at finke Isaac’s love affair with dirtbikes began at age 12 when his father bought him a Honda Cr80. At first, Isaac was too scared to ride it but over time he gained confidence and was soon beating every kid on the track. “He was always very talented,” says mechanic James lancer.

“He could easily have gone pro.”

Isaac achieved podium finishes in a number of state motocross titles and

had progressed to the senior ranks of the national titles by the age of 16. He also dabbled in desert racing, but put the beef of his efforts into motocross.

“I always preferred motocross [a race in an enclosed off-road circuit] as I liked watching my skills evolve as a rider,” he says, “whereas in desert racing, you just hold it flat and hope for the best.”

But there was one desert race from which Isaac could not turn away: the Finke, a 452-kilometre blast along the disused Ghan railway service track.

“People here live for it, they take months off work to pre-run the course,” Isaac says.

“I’d put off doing it for a long time as I thought it was too dangerous. But then I figured if everyone else can do it, so can I.” It was a typically hot morning when Isaac turned up at the starting line in April 2007 for his first practice run of the track.

It was also the first time riding his kTM 450 since fitting it with Enduro gearing – custom sprockets that increased his speed from 80 to 170 kilometres per hour.

“The first 10 kilometres was really scary, but then I got used to it and it started feeling normal. That’s where

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http://world.g-shock.com/intl http://world.g-shock.com/intl - Australian - Australian Enquiries Enquiries 1300 1300 768 768 112 112

unsung heroEs Previous page: flying high at a motocross track in alice right and below: making friends in east timor

it all went wrong. I started riding the trail like a motocross track, waiting til the last second to brake as I approached corners.

Then I came to a corner hidden by a crest that was a lot tighter than the others and I didn’t have time to brake. I overshot it and rode straight into a bunch of trees.”

Live to Ride Isaac says he never lost consciousness after impact. He says he realised what he’d done to himself moments after the crash, when a couple of passing riders helped him out of the trees: “I asked them if they could also bring my legs out of the trees as I couldn’t feel them. They told me that they weren’t in the tree; that I was flat on the ground. That’s when I knew.”

Isaac was airlifted to Adelaide and spent a week in intensive care until he was moved to rehab. “The first thing I asked for were dirtbike magazines,” he says. “The staff sorted me out,

and one of the magazines they gave me had a story about an American rider who broke his back and went back to riding.

I decided that was exactly what I was going to do. Everyone told me I was an idiot and I would hurt myself even more, but I was determined.”

Six weeks later, Isaac was back in the Alice, trying to figure out how to modify his bike. One day at his local bike shop, a reporter turned up and asked if he could get a picture of him riding.

“I still hadn’t ridden since the accident and had no idea whether or not balance would be an issue, but he already had his camera so I just went for it. There

“everyone told me i was an idiot and i would hurt myself even more, but i was determined.” wasn’t a problem. I did a few laps and pulled off a couple of wheelies, too.”

“When he started riding again, it was almost like therapy for him,” says mechanic James Lancer. “You could see his face glow. He was happy again.”

Man Versus Wild With little time to spare, Isaac began preparing for Finke, and the whole town got behind him. Former race mates lobbied the organisers to let Isaac

compete; they agreed to let him start five minutes behind the pack, tailed by two support riders. Friends raised funds to buy a semi-automatic centrifugal clutch to stop Isaac’s bike from stalling, as well as a push-button gearchange system from the UK. And quad legend Ed Hargrave welded on nerf bars to protect Isaac’s legs in case of a crash.

But the many modifications had unnerved Isaac’s bike and on the day of the big race, it refused to start. Then a spark from the battery set the air filter on fire. Half an hour would pass before he finally got going, but bad luck was destined to strike again. Sixty kilometres into it, the clutch seized and Isaac had to complete the course in one gear.

Nevertheless, he finished, coming in 264th in a field of 500 – a sensational result. “Because I put off entering Finke for so long and then had the accident, I felt the track had beaten me,” he says.

“But now I know I’ve beaten the track.”

This year Isaac has set his dirtbike sights on the Australasian Safari, a 10,000-kilometre off-road odyssey known as the toughest race in the land.

“I think I could do quite well in it,” he says. “The biggest problem with longdistance racing is you get a sore arse.

I don’t have to worry about that.”

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international report

m o r f

d n a l i a h T TO TIBET 30

enge a chall ors accept ropolis to s and act met r steamy s, dance r a e m g o r sin f of -MAXs A group an of D v a r ca a world to drive the f o p fto the roo

THIS PAGE: The D-MAX caravan in the mighty himalayas

n 1974, Isuzu Motors moved ute manufacturing from Japan to Thailand, where the D-MAX range holds the number one spot among all vehicles in the country, with more than a million utes sold. The move brought much-needed jobs to the Land of Smiles and when the first batch of D-MAXs left a port near Bangkok in 2003, a government delegation headed by then Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak went to see them off. So it came as no surprise when the senior management at Isuzu Motors in Japan chose Bangkok to kick off the latest D-MAX international challenge.

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international report

rIgHT: A D-MAX TACklES THE FrozEN TIBETAN HIGH PlATEAU bElow lEfT: CElEBrATING AT THE EvErEST BASE CAMP bElow rIgHT: PoWErING UP A STEEP GrADE EN roUTE To EvErEST

“A Mission to Conquer the World”, as the challenge was dubbed, would see eight regional celebrities pilot eight D-MAX lS Turbo Diesel utes across Thailand, laos, southern China, Tibet and Nepal before turning back home – a total distance of 15,000 kilometres.

The pilots – a glamorous bunch that included a former Miss Thailand, a hip-hop artist, a korean heart-throb and a movie starlet – undertook rigorous physical examinations prior to departure to ensure they could endure high altitudes and extreme fluctuations of hot and cold. on departure from Bangkok, the thermometer would read about 30°C, but on arrival in Tibet, it would close in on 30 below.

The caravan departed on october 24, 2009, from the headquarters of a Thai television station that would later broadcast the adventure as a reality Tv show with an eco-adventure angle.

The convoy arrived in lhasa in the first week of November, where the pilots enjoyed a tour of the Potala royal Palace – birthplace of the Dalai lama – and a feast cooked by an expatriate Thai chef.

A number of media representatives welcomed the adventurers, including Anothai Eamlumnow, president of the Thai Automotive Journalists Association, who announced, “There’s a Thai saying, ‘Distance proves the ability of a horse’, and a horse such as the Isuzu D-MAX

32

has already proven itself by conquering the gruelling routes. Now it is left to the drivers to prove themselves.”

From lhasa, the D-MAX caravan headed south-west towards the Everest Base Camp in Nepal. But it was not until November 21 – four weeks after its departure – that the caravan drove into Bangkok’s Impact Area, capping off an adventure like no other.

“I never thought a D-MAX would be able to drive on three wheels,” said Noohin Tonahongsa, the Thai starlet who piloted one of the utes. “But our car safely navigated the perilous slopes and ravines. My life really depended on the D-MAX.”

Added Shigeru Wakabayashi, vice president of the Tri Petch Isuzu Sales Company, which sells the D-MAX range in Thailand: “Every person involved was impressed with the performance of the D-MAX. It was a key reason why the entire journey was not obstructed by major problems despite the extremely high altitude.

At times, the altitude reached 5,300 metres above sea level, which meant thin air and low oxygen levels.

“After conquering the final destination at the base camp of Mount Everest and then returning to Thailand, the D-MAX proved its world-class quality standard.”

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a g n a s k a e t gourmet s

1

3 34

GRILL IT Stay clear of scotch fillet. For a really tender steak, go for flank, rump or oyster blade. Brush with oil, throw on the grill and sear on one side. When blood beads on the second side, it’s medium-rare.

SLICE IT I spent the first year of my apprenticeship chopping vegies – it made me the man I am today. Keep the onions thin and the beetroot and tomatoes thick, like people who chop vegies for a living.

2

4

IN oUr fIrST INSTAlMENT of ‘gET STUffED’, CHEf NEIl goTTHEINEr SHowS US How To MAKE THE bEST STEAK SANgA THIS SIDE of wolf CrEEK

TOAST IT Franchise steak restaurants sometimes drizzle vegie oil on bread as they toast it.

Big mistake! The chemical composition of polyunsaturated oils changes with heat.

It can easily go toxic and tastes foul.

SPREAD IT Add crushed garlic to mayo and you’ve got aioli. Spread a huge dollop on the toast.

Notice the steak has been resting on a mesh grill instead of a plate. This allows it to relax and reabsorb lost moisture.

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the man

CUT IT Never put an entire steak in a sandwich; it’s practically impossible to bite through.

Instead, cut it into strips, against its grain, at a 45-degree angle. This shortens the fibres and makes the meat more tender.

BUILD IT Layer the tomatoes, beetroot, onions, meat and rocket, drizzle on some dressing, add pepper ’n’ salt and layer a thick portion of your chutney – either tomato or apricot – on the second piece of toast.

7

EAT IT Someone once told me that if the insides of a sandwich don’t run down the front of your shirt, it’s no good. This one could end up in your boots!

Twenty years ago Neil gotthe iner was a promising law student who mo onlighted as a pizza delivery driver. “one day, I realised the food I was delivering wa s crap and I could do better, even though I didn’t know how to cook,” he said. So Ne il dropped out of uni and signed up for a four-year apprenticeship in a french res taurant, under a ‘psychopath’ who made go rdon ramsay look like the Pope. Neil went on to work at some of Sydney’s snobbiest restaurants and, in 2006, bought brown Sugar, a popular grubhouse on bondi beach. brown Sugar specialises in modern Austra lian classics, stuff like black stone eggs, fish pie and steak sandwiches.

SPARE PARTS

• 150g steak: flank, rump or oyster blade • 1 Turkish or Sicilian (scacci ata) bread • A fistful of rocket, one Rom a tomato, one Spanish onion and a bee troot • Tomato or apricot chutne y (buy it at the supermarket) • Aioli (mayo with fresh cru shed garlic) • Salad dressing (balsamic vinegar and olive oil) • Rock salt and ground bla ck pepper

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

• • • • • •

Chopping board Hot grill or barbie Sharp chopping knife and bre ad knife Tongs Mesh grill for resting the me at Set of bowls

TRY THE REAL THING

brown Sugar is at 106 Curlew is St bondi. open for lunch fri, Sat and Sun . bookings required most evenings. 02 9130 1566; www.brownsugarbondi.com .au

ACCessories OOTH BLUET

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dealer list

ISUZU UTE dealers: australia with 62 dedicated dealers in our national sales network, you’re sure to find a d-max dealer near you ASO = Approved Satellite Outlet

Queensland Ayr Pickerings Burdekin Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 4783 7077 Bundaberg Bundaberg Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 4152 0000 Cairns Trinity Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 4081 5000 Goondiwindi ASO Black Trucks Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 4671 3512 Ipswich Blue Ribbon Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 3288 6600 Mackay North Jacklin Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 4963 2200 Maroochydore Pacific Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 5458 9777 Mt Gravatt Keema Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 3426 1500

Redcliffe Northstar Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 3480 8600

CASE FILE

Rockhampton Rockhampton Prestige Phone: 07 4922 1000 Southport Cartwright Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 5557 7333 Springwood Keema Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 3884 8300 Townsville Pickerings Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 4726 5515

Victoria Ballarat Ballarat City Light Commercial Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 5331 5000 Bendigo Central Victorian Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 5447 1550 Bundoora Sterling Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 9467 5533

Albury Wodonga Blacklocks Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6049 5500

Long Name: Aaron n tral Victoria en C : at Works C VI o, ig nd Be Isuzu UTE, hat nd up for w Motto: “Sta even if it , in you believe ng alone.” means standi

Malvern Isuzu UTE Malvern Phone: 03 9864 3585 Mildura Autosynergry Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 5022 0927 Shepparton Ken Muston Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 5821 6688 Traralgon Isuzu UTE Gippsland Phone: 03 5175 8060

Nundah Norris Motor Group Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 3635 5100

Dandenong Patterson Cheney Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 9703 3333

Warrnambool Clinton Baulch’s Warrnambool Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 5561 6000

Toowoomba Black Trucks Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 4631 4200

Horsham Dick Wilson Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 5382 4677

Werribee Werribee Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 9974 3799

38

New South Wales

Ballina ASO Trevan Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6681 4499 Bathurst ASO Orange Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6332 4007 Bomaderry Country Motor Company Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 4421 0122 Bowral Highlands Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 4861 1100 Coffs Harbour Coffs Coast Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6648 3566 Dubbo Sainsbury Automotive Dubbo Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6884 6444 Eden Ron Doyle Motors Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6496 1420 Forbes ASO Sainsbury Automotive Forbes Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6852 2244

CASE FILE

Gosford Central Coast Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 4320 0900

Wagga Wagga Wagga Motors Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6933 0100

South Adelaide Black Forest Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 8292 8904

Goulburn ASO John McGrath Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 4823 1000

Wyong ASO Central Coast Motor Group Phone: 02 4352 1044

Mt Gambier O.G.R Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 8724 1111

Greenacre Dale Isuzu UTE Phone:02 8700 0173

Young Mcalister Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6382 3033

Port Lincoln Mike Raleigh Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 8682 3106

Lismore Trevan Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6627 7999

Australian Capital Territory

Port Augusta Port Augusta Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 8643 6233

Gouldburn ASO John McGrath Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 4823 1000

Western Australia

Maitland Hunter Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 4999 6710 Newcastle Newcastle Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 4980 0660 North Wollongong ASO Shellharbour Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 4222 7900 Orange Orange Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6362 8100 Penrith Western Sydney Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 4736 2143

Mitchell ASO John McGrath Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6201 1800 Queanbeyan John McGrath Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6166 1111

South Australia North Adelaide Isuzu UTE Walkerville Phone: 08 8269 2922

CASE FILE

Port Macquarie John Patrick Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6584 1800 Shellharbour Shellharbour Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 4227 3799 Tamworth Peel Valley Motors Tamworth Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6768 3111

Midland Midland Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9464 1000

Albany Albany Auto Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9841 4555

Moora ASO T & H Waltons Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9651 1363

Broome Broome Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9192 7357

Wangara Wanneroo Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9403 9480

Bunbury Jem Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9725 4911

Wagin ASO Jem Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9861 2188

Esperance ASO Albany Autos Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9071 1060

Northern Territory

Geraldton Waltons Isuzu UTE Geraldton Phone: 08 9921 5044 Kalgoorlie Golden City Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9021 1699

Smith Name: Scott ack Forest Bl : at ks or W Adelaide, SA Isuzu UTE, or do not.

Motto: “Do, ry’.” ‘t no There is

y Stone Name: Rodne idland Isuzu M : Posted at , WA UTE, Midland every day Motto: “Live .” nt te in with

Maddington DVG Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9492 0000 Melville ASO DVG Melville Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9330 0777

Alice Springs Isuzu UTE Territory Phone: 08 8952 5155 Darwin Isuzu UTE Darwin Phone: 08 8946 4483

Tasmania Derwent Park Jackson Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 6277 6600 Launceston Jackson Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 6323 7000

max*d

39

hook, line ‘n’ sinker

the Jack hunter

if there’s one thinG darran burns loves more than his d-max, it’s fishinG. we spend a few moments with this avid anGler to find out just what makes him tick

DArrAN WITH A 58CM MANGrovE JACk CAUGHT oFF THE GolD CoAST

what’s your favourite fish to eat and catch?

plenty of space to carry all the gear.

Anything that swims and eats lures, but catch and release fishing for mangrove jack in their natural habitat is probably the most enjoyable for me. Favourite fish to eat… fresh flathead fillets, crumbed and served with lemon and dill butter.

where’s your favourite fishing spot?

Hard to pick, but Moreton Bay has consistently been producing the goods with a huge variety of species and fishing options. Plus it’s easy to reach from my home city, Brisbane.

what’s your ultimate fishing trip?

Doing a full lap of Australia with the girlfriend and dog in my D-MAX. The only problem is that it would take forever, because I’d want to stop and fish at every little creek, beach and puddle of water we pass.

what did you drive prior to the d-max?

My last car was a Commodore so, as a ‘fishing truck’, the D-MAX is a million times better.

Not being a 4x4 and not being able to launch in those out-of-the-way places or getting stuck on a muddy boat ramp was a real pain.

Plus, fuel consumption in the Commodore’s v6 was high compared to the D-MAX’s turbo diesel, which makes a huge difference when driving long distances.

what mods have you made to your d-max?

I’ve fitted it with Bluetooth, floor trays and a tow bar but as for modifications, I haven’t seen the need. But I do have my eye on a chrome grille and maybe a bullbar with spotties down the track.

what boat do you have, and what fishing gear do you recommend?

My boat is a quintrex Hornet Trophy.

When it comes to tackle and rods, I have an entire room dedicated to fishing gear. Some might say that’s unhealthy – the girlfriend included – but the fact is you need different gear for different fishing spots. Nowadays, ‘catch and release’ fishing with lures on light tackle is definitely the go, and I don’t know anyone who’s tried it that didn’t enjoy it.

My advice is spend as much as you can on good gear, though I’d still fish with a $2 handline if it was all I had.

what’s your most memorable fishing adventure?

The first time I went chasing big barramundi up near Gladstone, we caught a heap of fish without too much hard work, and most of those were over the magic metre mark.

and the one that got away?

what makes your d-max a good fishing truck?

It tows like a champion and is easy on the juice. It’s also very reliable, which gives you peace of mind when towing the boat on long trips up and down the coast.

And it’s got all the creature comforts I need, with

win

losing a good fish just makes me want to fish even more and if catching them was easy, then it wouldn’t be fun. It’s the anticipation that keeps me coming back again and again, so if I get a look at the fish beside the boat, then I don’t mind so much. It’s the ones you battle for ages but never get to see that leave you wondering.

g pack! ax fishining win a d-m , email D-MAX to go fish

le If you use your ils and our peop u with your deta ed in sh bli pu maxd@iua.net.a be ill w The best story . will contact you.

AX fishing pack d will win a D-M an ue iss the next

Only Isuzu Genuine Parts offer quality components engineered by decades of automotive experience.

You can confidently drive with the satisfaction that every part and component has been manufactured to the highest of standards. This ensures you a safe, more efficient and environmentally sound driving experience at the level of quality that the designers of the Isuzu D-MAX intended – the original and the best.

For further information visit your Isuzu UTE Dealer or call 1300 147 898.

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2008

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