Fast fix for monster troubles

Heroic efforts and a record-breaking gearbox change helped save the day for a monster truck show organiser.

With just a few hours until Kiwi Steel’s monster truck event in Blenheim last weekend, a gearbox blew on one of the main attractions - the monster truck, Taurus.

With an eager crowd gathering to see the full fleet in action, Kiwi Steel organiser Neil Dempsey was determined not to let ticket holders down.

The Taurus monster truck had it’s Chevrolet PH400 gearbox “blow to smithereens” on route to Pak Lim’s Road where it was going on display.

The entire team launched into a rescue mission for a replacement.

Thanks to a rapid trip to Christchurch and back, Taurus was able to enter the Eastern States Speedway arena to wow the Blenheim crowds.

“It was very close to the wire, to the point we changed the entire order of the show through the afternoon to plan for the likelihood Taurus wouldn’t be able to run on the night,” Neil says.

“The whole Eastern States Speedway helped get the word out and found one in Picton, but it turned out to be the wrong one after some of the team got it unbolted.”

“We eventually found one in Christchurch, collected it and arrived back at 6pm, proceeded to do the fastest gearbox swap I’ve ever seen thanks to our crews, the Speedway and Power Farming engineers on hand, and got it running 20 minutes into the show.”

However, Neil says that despite some strong language in the pits on the repair, the Kiwi Steel Rodeo crew appreciated the crowd’s support and loved their Blenheim stop.

“We were stoked with the show, and the size and enthusiasm of the crowd.

“We’ve had so much positive feedback from the show, so it’s really a massive thanks to the whole team still bringing their best to what was a fun night for all involved.”