The West Australian wheat fields at Smithy’s Place, home of the first round of the Australian Off Road Championship, will be reacquainted with the Razorback Pro-Class cars of James Madden and Bradley Mudge at Easter.

Andrew Mowles will introduce the West to the latest addition in the Razorback stable, a single seater ProLite Razorback. The ARB Pinjarra Engineering Hyden 450 will be the debut race for the Razorback, powered by a Shane Wilson built Nissan VQ35 and Albins 6 speed sequential. Mowles and his Razorback will add an extra spark to the class which is already firing.

Mudgey is looking to build on his consistent performance in his V8 powered Razorback, which has seen him lock away six finishes from six starts straight out of the box. James on the other hand has gone on the hunt for more grunt. Gone is the 2.5 litre turbo and taking its place in the back of his beast is a fresh 6 cylinder out of a Subaru Outback. Naturally aspirated in its standard form, the 3.0 litre boxer engine has now been turbo charged and James is hanging out to unleash it at Hyden.

“I anticipate the first drive at race pace will be a little daunting until we get used to the way the added power of the bigger power plant comes on !!. From the limited 20km testing we have done, the extra cubes certainly have made a big difference. The difference between our 2.5L and the 3.0L was around a 20% increase in KW, but in torque we have achieved a huge 50% increase, thanks largely to the extra two cylinders. The big benefit is not having to stretch the engine as far as before, but it sure comes on in a rush !!” said James.

James continued “we are really looking forward to getting back on the track in the West and are aiming to improve on 2009s twelfth outright. Last year’s crash didn’t faze me. If it did, we wouldn’t have fronted up again on the Sunday morning.”

James has had to juggle his own pre-season preparations with an extremely busy workshop.

“It’s exciting to have another two Razorbacks well underway. We have been wrapping up the build on a two seater ProLite for Aaron James from Mildura. Aaron is planning to debut his Razorback at Baroota, before unveiling it on the national stage at the Tattersall’s Finke Desert Race in June. Our first Super 1650 A-Arm is 60% complete, with the aim of having it on the track for Queensland’s Jared Melville mid-year.”

The ARB Pinjarra Engineering Hyden 450 kicks off with scrutiny and reconnaissance on Good Friday, before the Razorbacks are unleashed on the wheat fields of Smithy’s Place on Easter Saturday and Sunday.