The Taupo 1000 has a reputation as being the toughest offroad endurance race in the southern hemisphere - probably because its equivalent to driving a Bathurst 1000 over two days without once driving on a tarmac surface!

On the weekend of September 12th & 13th Grant Guy & Roger McKay will for the third time be racing in the Taupo1000 with their V8 charged ARB Patrol.

This year there will be a number of high-profile international entrants from Britain, the US and Australia making this tough endurance race one of the best supported offroad racing events for some time.

The course for 2009 is all new 1000km of road and track surfaces that are mostly pumice and scoria gravel, but with a few mud sections to negotiate. In reality, it is a mix of fast logging highways and tight, twisting tracks beneath a canopy of production pine forests. The event covers three days, with scrutineering and a "look lap" of the track on Thursday September 10, scrutineering on Friday September 11 and racing on the Saturday and Sunday (500km per day - 9 laps of the 54km course).

The "look lap" for the race track will take up to 3 hours to "drive" around the 54km race course but at a blistering pace can take as little as 45 minutes during racing conditions.

Grant has his race-truck ready for the event and believes a good result will come from those who have a vehicle that can last the distance in what is a very tough endurance race.