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Maxxis Trepadors lead the way for Team Gigglepin in Croatia

No stranger to the toughest 4x4 event in Europe, Team Gigglepin driver Jim Marsden alongside co-driver Wayne Smith made the journey to Croatia Trophy 2015. Having lifted the trophy previously in 2011, the pressure was on for the team to claim victory once again.

The 8 day event, set over forest terrain, provided many challenges for the team but it would emerge that Team Gigglepin and Maxxis would be crowned the 2015 Croatia Trophy Champions once again.

Day 1, Stage 1 – The weather is stunning and the cars head into Topusko for lunch, a show start and to meet the fans before heading to the forests for the prologue. It’s a fast stage with four cars in each group; and the team placed 10th.

Day 2, Stage 2 – Having coming 10th in the Prologue, Maxxis drivers Jim and Wayne had a simple plan for day 2 – to get as many punches as possible and take the lead. The first few kilometres went really well and they soon passed three or four cars. Then at check point one – The road book didn’t fit the terrain and the team lost over 30 minutes trying to find the way. Eventually they got back on track and set off hunting the cars that had passed. Some great racing lead to the team finishing first was a massive 1 hour lead.

 Day 3, Stage 3 – A 72km blast through the forests. A wrong turn and some dried leaves blocking the radiator caused the Team Gigglepin racer to overheat, with the temperature gauge misleading as it faulted. The mistakes and overheating however cost the team their lead.

Day 4, Stage 4 – After costly mistakes from Day 3, it was great to see the team had still retained an 18 minute lead. Day 4 consisted of racing 12km individually through heavy forests to a quarry leaving the start in two minute intervals. The teams are split into teams of four vehicles based on yesterday’s results. The challenge event proved victorious for Maxxis drivers Jim & Wayne as they emerged three minutes faster than other competitors.

Day 4, Stage 5 – The Night Stage. Fast and slippery forest sections with huge water meadows and steep winch climbs. The team started fifth and finished first, winning the stage by 7 minutes.

Day 5, Stage 6 – A late start after the previous night stage. It was a fast course with a balance of mud, meadows and technical driving.  The start is crazy with nearly 20 cars lining up side by side with the track converging on a gap in the trees only two cars wide after 100m. The team stayed on full attack for the first lap and then settled to a fast race pace for our next two laps. This stage saw the team further extend their lead by 10 minutes.

Day, 6, Stage 7 – The competition returned to the forest with a tough course. Long dark gullies with hellish mud and steep unforgiving hills. Many teams struggled with the tough conditions and the team were lucky to not only win the stage but to extend their lead by over 2 hours.

Day 7, Stage 8 – 52km kilometres of fast forest tracks with brutal water meadows and hard to find trails. Flying into the start, the team soon encounter a problem with their brakes. Repairing the problem caused them to drop several places. Coupled with a few navigation errors, the team finished 3rd heading into the final day.

Day 8, Stage 9 – The final 40km of forest stages, but with the team on a commanding 2.5 hour lead, they looked to bring it home. Racing hard on their Maxxis Trepadors, they crossed the line and it was official – Team Gigglepin were the Croatia Trophy 2015 Champions!