Darren Skilton And His Jeep Cherokee Win The 2014 Desert Storm Rally

Darren Skilton (he of Dakar, Jeepspeed and Baja fame) took on the 2014 Desert Storm Rally in his Dakar spec Jeep Grand Cherokee.  He had also won the much longer NORRA Mexican 1000 in this vehicle in 2013 so it was more than well sorted out for this sort of event.

The Super Production class Cherokee took the win on the day by over a minute from Adam Short and his Open class WRX while it was 4th place finisher John Trucks and his WRX STi that presented the biggest challenge to Skilton until a blown strut and unhinged hood literally smashed his chances at a win.

Its good to see Skilton out there though I wish it was at an event that had a greater number of competitors to show him that there is life left in the American rally scene yet.  Between the weak showing at this event and the forced cancellation of his Rally Diabolico earlier this year, I worry as to the sport's North American perception given Skilton is the US representative with the ASO for Dakar purposes.
Desert Storm 2014 Results

Bowler's Land Rover Defender Challenge

God I love me some Land Rover Defender...

If there is a vehicle I would LOVE to have in my stable it would be the Defender...Like a Jeep Wrangler--but way cooler.  And in bright yellow please!

So how awesome is it that Bowler (the company making all sort of Dakar spec Land Rover based race vehicles) has created its own offroad racing series with "inexpensive" Defenders?  Some $83K will get you the race vehicle all kitted out for racing and it sounds like another $22K gets you your entry fee into all seven 2014 events (a bit over $3K a race....not bad at all considering it comes with full catering in the pits, full service by the Bowler team and can then compete alongside the Bowler works team in international competition).

For your money you get to rip around the English countryside in rally-raid style events designed to prep any aspiring racer for events like the Dakar or Africa Eco-Challenge or any of the dozens of Rally-Raid events taking place throughout Europe and Africa.  A simple vehicle amply ready to be beat upon and withstand beginner mistakes the Defender makes a great platform for some rough and tough racing.  Supposedly almost all slots in the '14 series are spoken for and represent a great way to get into the high end of the sport for the inexperienced.

Plus maybe in a year or two they'll start selling some of the "gently loved" race-spec Defenders...A short article by the Top Gear folks is found below on this series...

Top Gear on the Bowler Challenge...
Bowler Defender Challenge...

Papercruiser.com

How on earth this website has not popped up for a mention on one of the big automotive coverage websites is beyond me.  But here it is in all its glory.  Paper models are much more popular in other parts of the world than they are here in the States but you can find ones of Dakar vehicles and numerous other race vehicles from many international series.

Papercruiser.com started out doing LandCruiser's only but has since evolved into Jeeps and even a commercial Mitsubishi box truck! Perhaps the best feature offered is the ability to hire the man behind these creations to make a custom version for your own uses.

You can see examples of the versions he has created for TJM and Maxtrax on his website.  Way cooler than any little promo photo or flyer handout.

My personal favorite is the Jeep Mighty FC concept model with full 3D wheels.  You can see just how much the paper model looks like the real thing by comparing the above model to the below reality.  Never has a couple sheets of ground up tree pulp looked so cool.

Papercruiser.com