Just to back up a solid ride in the teams class at the Thumb Pump 300 ATV Festival last weekend, X-team riders Bullet and Colin Lawson have headed up to Darwin for the annual Kamfari Mud race, now in its 40th year. Joining them is X-team manager Mick Andrewartha and also one of Col's buddies from FNQ Adrian Hermsen who is planning on running in the Australasian Safari later in the year as part of the X-team with Col.

All three of these guys are riding 2011 Can Am Outlander X XC models. Outlander 800XMR's (mud racers) may have seemed the logical choice and there are a few locals riding them, Territory Marine backed Waldo Hussey for one, but as a quad designed more for straight line mud bogging rather than tight enduro racing the X-team crew felt that the X XC would be more appropriate for them, just loaded up with 28 inch tyres (the legal maximum for the event) and a few of the features from the XMR to help with the water crossings like the snorkel kit (genuine kit available from Can-am dealers and will fit all model Outlanders), genuine high flow air filters and fender flares to keep the mud away from the riders. Steve Blair and his team from Territory Marine have been a great help to the X-team riders having made some custom 4mm and 6mm wheel spacers to allow the use of 10 inch wide front tyres on the standard wheels without the tyres rubbing on the tie rod ends. Local ATV legend Stoney (also father of Kamfari rider Matt Stone) has also helped out with trailering some of the quads up to Darwin for the team and giving them somewhere to prep the quads. As you'll see in the pics below (just click the "read more" button to see the rest) the guys have had a busy day getting ready and will now be at Scrutineering which is held at Precision Motorcycles, naming sponsor of the event.

Territory Marine's Showroom and workshop.

Commander X Models. This is the first time the X-Team boys have seen this model up close...and they were sufficiently impressed.

Some of the new Outlander XMR's. It's just a pitty that the Kamfari organisers won't let you run the standard 30 inch tyres. This setup would be unstoppable in the mud.

Col getting ready to flip the top off of an Outlander crate

Stoney's race trailer for son's Matt and Locky.

The workshop at Stoney's. It was looking super tidy and clean until the X-team turned up.

Fitting the snorkel kit to an Outlander is pretty involved. Can-am thought of everything and there are breather extension hoses running all over the place.

OEM Can-am rear fender flares. Easy to fit and a great addition to this Mud Racing setup.

Front Fender Flares

The kit even includes a complete new air box and filter, already setup to receive all of the breather hoses.

Matty Stone is racing this Outlander 500 XT. This way Territory Marine have a rider in the up to 500cc class as well.

The dash gets a lift kit....Can-am don't just give you the gear to modify your original dash, they give you a whole new one with the mods already done.

ITP 28Inch Mud Lites from Austraco.

28 Inches is the maximum tyre size for the Kamfari Mud Race

Bullet making some light weight tow ropes... must be planning on helping a few people out (or getting bogged)

the finished product

Adrian is running a new brand of tyre, Artrax - Countrax

Bullet fitted these 6mm aluminum plates to allow clearance on the front end when running ten inch wide Tyres as opposed to the standard 8 inch. He tried 4mm plates but they still just rubbed on one side. The boys at Territory Marine just knocked these up in their awesome workshop.

6mm and 4mm spacers for comparison

Locky Stone helping Bullet fit a wheel over the spacers and checking for clearance.

Finally, clearance between the tie rod end and the tyre.

Staying at the free spirit resort on the Stuart highway just out of Palmerston. Feels just like desert palms in Alice, only quite a bit warmer than Alice at Finke time. Great facilities and plenty of room for race trailers etc. Nice pool with a bar right beside it. Sweet!

Darwin X-team HQ.

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