Team Mud in Mac4x4

Team Mud consists of two brothers from Northern Ireland - Graeme and Chris Elliott - taking part in the Mac4x4 Challenge in March 2007. Graeme is a dentist in Edinburgh and a member of the Scottish Off Road Club and Scottish Land Rover Owners Clubs and Chris is a medical rep in Northern Ireland and a member of the Northern Ireland Land Rover Owners Club.

Graeme bought the Defender last Christmas and has started doing some tyros and RTV trials with mixed success! Chris caught the bug off Graeme and has recently purchased a Defender 90 with half a farmyard still inside, but with a bit of effort has turned it into a tidy and capable off-roader.

The Mac 4x4 is a long distance endurance driving and navigational event which also includes off-road sections and night navigation exercises. The event covers over 1000 miles in a weekend and in recent years competitors have visited England, Wales, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland. First run in March 2002 the event has raised in the region of £200,000 for Macmillan cancer support, has attracted considerable coverage in the motoring press and several celebrities have taken part.

The main aim of the Mac4x4 is to raise money and awareness of Macmillan Cancer Support. Macmillan Cancer Support improves the lives of people affected by cancer. They provide practical, medical, emotional and financial support and push for better cancer care.

We will be driving Graeme’s Land Rover Defender 110. This is his only car so it has to perform a variety of duties! Obviously it will be our car for the Mac 4x4 and some of the upgrades are tailored for this, including the map reading lights and extra lighting for the night orienteering sections plus compass for navigation. Apart from being his daily driver it is regularly used for mountain biking, often carrying 5 bikes, riders and kit to mountain bike events. Graeme also competes in Tyros and RTV’s with the Scottish Off-Road Club and Scottish Land Rover Owners Club so modifications including steering and differential guards and recovery points have been added.

Next July Graeme is planning a tour of the Pyrenees so more upgrades are planned to turn the Defender into an expedition-equipped vehicle!

Team Mud has so far raised over £3300 and we hope to increase this further. Please have a look at our website and visit our sponsors. We have many items for sale including car accessories, tools, golf and mountain biking vouchers. An engine remap, a Porsche for a weekend and 2 off-roading holidays in the Alps with Alpine Rovers are also on offer via auctions and raffles. Coming soon is a range of Team Mud buffs, essential outdoor wear! Keep an eye on the website for details.

Our main sponsor is Rocket Fuel Vodka. Rocket Fuel Drinks Company have been producing award winning vodka from British grain since 1997. They have launched their precision distilled premium grain vodka at 42.85% abv. Rocket Fuel Drinks Company have always produced vodka uncompromising in quality and style, and now their flagship brand has evolved to the highest level.

Alpine Rovers have donated 2 tag along off-roading holidays to the Alps which we hope to auction and raffle. The Alpine Rovers Adventure Safari is a holiday with a difference. An adventure you won’t forget in a hurry. Individuals and groups are welcome, just bring your 4x4.

The trips travel to the western Alps where Italy borders with France. Roughly in the vast area between Mont Blanc, Europe’s highest mountain, and the sparkling blue Mediterranean Sea which is arguably the most scenic and most spectacular part of the Alps.

Nutt Travel have agreements with the largest ferry companies throughout Ireland, the UK and Europe. They pride themselves on providing a fast and friendly service at very competitive prices. In order to give you the best deal at any given time, they have a personal online booking enquiry service. All you need to do is simply fill in your details on their request a quote page. If you’ve had any quotes already, let them know and they will do their very best to beat them!

Td5 Alive was set up to allow their customers an affordable alternative to main dealer diagnostic services. They have invested heavily in the very latest in computerised Land Rover vehicle diagnostic equipment, which allows them to quickly and efficiently trace faults, and make alterations to your vehicles many independent control units. Their system is fully portable, so they are able to come to you, so you can spend more time doing your jobs, while they do theirs. They have kindly donated an engine remap with all proceeds going to Macmillan Cancer Support and will be doing some work on Graeme’s Defender.

Both Team Mud Defenders are equipped with the CG Lock. Typical automotive-type seat belts do not tighten. They are designed to stay loose. The CG-Lock lets your automotive seat belt work like an aircraft seat belt: when you pull the lap belt tight, it stays as tight as you want. With a CG-Lock installed, you can easily tighten the lap belt portion of your seat belt by pulling up on the shoulder harness. The CG-Lock lets you remove as much slack from the lap belt as you want. A little tightness adds comfort on long trips or during "turbulent" off road driving. A lot of tightness provides a driver with better control during spirited or aggressive driving on 'track days' or off road. The shoulder harness stays loose (just like normal) so you can still easily reach controls on the dashboard. Both Graeme and Chris have noticed the benefits, particularly on steep descents where the tight lap belt prevents the body “submarining” below the belt.

Team Mud is currently topping the sponsorship league table for the Mac by over £1000. The distinctive car with the extra equipment and sponsorship logos has been attracting a lot of attention on its travels. The Team Mud website has also been getting plenty of hits, we are ranked in many top 5 searches on the popular search engines, ranking nearly as high as the official event websites. We are currently looking for companies or individuals to sponsor us, or who can offer help, please contact us via our website. You are guaranteed excellent exposure in the Edinburgh area on a daily basis, at off-roading and mountain biking events in Scotland, nationwide wherever the Mac challenge takes us and in the 4x4 press.

Finally, it is a sobering thought that 1 in 3 of us will suffer from cancer and we all know someone who has been cared for by a Macmillan nurse.



Team Mud would like to thank all our sponsors and the event organisers:

www.rocketfuel.co.uk
www.TD5alive.com
www.alpinerovers.com
www.cg-lock.co.uk
www.nutttravel.com
www.land-rover-parts-shop.com
www.granturismo.demon.co.uk
www.mac4x4.co.uk
www.teammud.co.uk

Current modifications include:

Exterior

Abar with 9” 100watt Wipac driving lamps
Up rated headlamp bulbs
Front Light grilles
White front indicators and side repeaters
Chequer plate steps on bumper
Personalised number plate
Personalised Wheel cover
Steering guard
Front diff guard
Wing top chequer plate
Side sills and rear quarter panel chequer plate
Mantec snorkel
Full length roof rack
Warn lights on roof rack 2 spots and 2 floods
Rear Recovery point
Rear ladder
Rear work lamp
Rear NAS stop/tail lights
LED Bulbs
Twin reversing lamps
BF Goodrich All Terrains on Smiths alloys
Tow bar electrics concealed in bumper

Interior

Up rated stereo and speakers
CB Radio
Hella map reading light
Silva compass
Customised switch panel for extra lighting and rear wiper
Clock and interior/exterior temperature gauge
Cubby box modified with 12v accessory socket
Fitted fire extinguisher
Full length dog guard
Rear door card replaced with chequer plate
CG Lock equipped seat belts

Engine

K and N performance air filter

Further modifications are planned in the coming weeks

12volt accessory socket fitted in rear
Fire extinguisher in rear
Up rated rear door lock
High mounted rear stop/taillights
Rear internal window guards for 2 side windows and 3 rear windows
Shelf system with drawer below for storage
Cooker mount on rear door
Hard wired power inverter
ECU remapped for extra power
240volt hook-up for camping
EGR bypass kit
Tinted rear windows
Awning

Graeme and Chris Elliott
Team Mud
Northern Ireland