Team Narva Takes Class Victory in Revamped 2018 Outback Challenge

Team Narva, spearheaded by driver Shayne Barkley and navigator Clinton Sharp, drove their GQ Patrol to ‘Pro Stock’ Class Honours in the recent 2018 Outback Challenge, along the way to an overall top four finish.

The pair had diced for the outright lead on the final day of the intensive three day competition before wear and tear on the vehicle and a shredded tyre just a couple of hours from the finish line took their toll.

Despite the challenges, Shayne was pleased with Team Narva’s performance although rued ‘the one that got away’.

“Of course both Clinton and I were really happy to get a class win, but at the same time we were a bit disappointed that we didn’t come away with an overall win, but that’s racing,” Shayne said.

“We put a lot of time into the preparation of the truck and it held together well. At the end we were only one of four vehicles to finish the last stage within the allotted time and this is despite the damaged tyre and a hard hit we took on a tree limb,” he said.

Team Narva’s encounter with a low hanging tree limb while driving into direct sunlight and over rocky terrain, was strong enough to sheer one of its roof-mounted Ultima 180 L.E.D driving lights clean off the heavy-duty mounting bracket.

“It was a very hard hit,” Shayne recalls, “and for the rest of the stage, which was around another hour, we could hear a banging noise on the cabin roof.”

“We got out of the truck at the end of the stage and one of the lights was attached by just the wiring harness but we turned the lights on and they still worked fine!”

“Over the duration of the event we were extremely impressed with how the Narva equipment performed. There were a couple of tricky and quite technical night stages and the Narva Ultima L.E.D driving lights and L.E.D light bars really made things easier for us.”

Representing Narva at the Outback Challenge was State Manager VIC/TAS, David Hood, who drove the Narva Ford Ranger to the event location and set-up a product display for competitors and spectators to enjoy.

“The 2018 Outback Challenge provided a great opportunity for our brand and for me to spend some time with our end users and to get feedback on the Narva range,” David said.

“During the night stages in particular there were some very complementary comments from both competitors and spectators about how bright the Narva-equipped competition trucks were and also about the clarity and volume of light that our products were producing.”

“Vehicle lighting aside, the event also allowed us to showcase some other new and exciting Narva equipment from across different product categories, including the recently-launched ALS (Advanced Lighting Systems) product line-up.”

The ALS range includes two Narva ‘Head Torches’ that provide wearers with convenient, hands-free illumination ideal for workshop, trade and leisure applications. Other equipment within the ALS family includes several rechargeable L.E.D Audio lighting which combine hand-held, rechargeable L.E.D lighting with Bluetooth audio.

Further details of the 2018 Outback challenge results can be found at: www.outbackchallenge.com.au and www.facebook.com/outbackchallenge