Queenslanders Clayton Chapman and Adam McGuire #15 have successfully defended their Hillston crown after a dramatic final day of the 2026 ARB Harvey’s Service Centre Fuchs The Gap 440, Round 1 of the 2026 ARB Australian Off Road Racing Championship hosted by the Griffith Off Road Club,
Securing the team’s fifth national triumph in the past three years, Chapman and McGuire delivered another flawless performance in the team’s Toyota 2JZ powered Razorback, backing up their victory from the previous The Gap 440 edition in 2024.
Chapman took control of the race on Sunday’s second lap following the unfortunate retirement of his closest rival, Josh Howells #9, and was never headed despite a late charge from reigning ARB Australian champion Aaron Haby #1, powering to back-to-back The Gap 440 victories.
“We just love it here, this track is basically a longer version of where we learnt to drive this thing, and it just suits us to the ground. All our years with Adam in the car, almost 20 years now, just doing pace notes, it just makes our speed here so safe,” said an emotional Chapman.
“We honestly had a flawless run; the car did nothing wrong for us. Only one set of tyres all weekend, the Mickey’s held up well. We just kept it clean on good lines and brought it home.
“It’s still surreal hey, every time we jump that finish line at full pace it’s been something we have been chasing for years. Huge credit to the entire team, to dad and brother Stu for swinging spanners all weekend, this is a very special win for all of us.”
Chapman set the tone early, claiming the Raceline Wheels prologue by a razor-thin 0.1 seconds, before converting a 7.9-second overnight lead into a 2.53-minute victory over South Australians Aaron Haby, Chelsea Haby and Declan Fritchley #1.
Haby was thrilled with his Hillston result in the team’s Toyota powered Element Prodigy and will carry strong momentum into the next championship at Waikerie. Starting Sunday in third, Haby closed within 1.34-minutes of the lead heading into the final 88kms, but was unable to reel in a defiant Chapman, ultimately settling for second outright, and second in the Ultimate Class.
In one of the early contenders for drive of the season, Ally Howells and Sarah Corrigan steered their Class 1–winning Jimco Aussie Special to an impressive third place outright, surging thirteen positions from sixteenth after Saturday morning’s prologue.
On a weekend highlighted by big name casualties, the ever-consistent Howells delivered her career best outright result at an ARB Australian championship event, and alongside Corrigan became the first all-female crew to podium at a national round.
Separated by less than a minute, Howells fended off three chasing crews to secure third place during a chaotic final lap of The Gap 440—cementing their status as genuine contenders for the 2026 ARB Australian championship.
South Australian Alumi Craft driver Bodie Tickner #1093 made a strong impression at Hillston, finishing fourth outright and claiming victory in the fiercely contested Class 10 category—just 28 seconds behind Howells.
Starting thirteenth on the grid, Tickner charged through the field on Sunday to secure the result, also marking his best-ever finish at an ARB Australian Championship round.
Photo credit: Show ‘n’ Go Media
Class 4 Hillston champions Brett Comiskey and Corey Cooper #434 continued their hot start to 2026 crossing 7 seconds off the pace of Tickner in fifth outright. Comiskey was another to make a huge jump from his overnight position of fourteenth on Sunday to round out the 2026 ARB Harvey’s Centre Fuchs The Gap 440 top five.
Conroy Devine and Robert Roles #608 capped off their maiden Hillston campaign in style, securing an impressive Class 6 victory and sixth outright, finishing just 15 seconds behind Comiskey. Fellow Can-Am Maverick R competitors Lachlan and Greg Campbell #3 followed closely, crossing the line 1.03 minutes behind in seventh outright and second in Class 6.
Photo credit: Show ‘n’ Go Media
First locals’ home, Rhett Standen and Josh Lyell #1024 navigated the demanding ‘Mactocton’ layout to finish eighth fastest and second in Class 10, with Mark and Tom Burrows #21 rounding out the Ultimate podium ahead of Griffith’s Jason and Nate Richards #91 in ninth and tenth outright respectively.
In other results, Nicolas Pye and Rhi Pryde #629 crossed third in Class 6 (11th outright), likewise Michael Marson #1032 in Class 10 (12th outright), with Perry Stylianos and Jim Walsh #1157, Alex and Jacob Molloy #316, Connor and Rodney Henderson #225 winning their respective classes. Paul and Mark-Paul Grant #504 finished all laps in their brand new F150 truck to secure Class 5 honours over Russell Harris and Baillie Farley #515, with Chris Hardie and Ashley Weinert #516 in third.
David Loughnan and Darren Barker #104 (13th outright) locked down second in Class 1, with local young gun Sam Richards and Tanner James #119 overcoming an early mechanical setback on Sunday to collect third. Darren Mott and Adrian Coatsworth #435 claimed second in Class 4 ahead of class newcomers Leigh Ryan and Nathan Wills #481.
After watching several notables fall away on Saturday including Tom Dixon #83, Russell Hartnett #1012, Luke Erceg #1050, Chris Land #80, Aaron Phillis #40, and Steven Kildey #484, Sunday saw Josh Howells #9, Andy Brown #45, Danny Brown #42, Craig Barnett #68, Matthew Burrows #123, Steven Graham #1065, Tyler Youman #427, Dean Meginley #87, Jason Keane #1013, and Jay Mitchell #121 all bow out during the four-lap section.
The 2026 The Gap 440 would not have been possible without the support of championship partners ARB 4×4 Accessories, Mickey Thompson Tyres, and Raceline Wheels Australia, along with naming rights sponsors Harvey’s Service Centre and Fuchs Lubricants.
The event was further backed by elite sponsors including Ag Finance Specialist, Asquith Earthmoving, BB Building, Codemo Machinery Services, Greenwich Ag, John & Annette Waide, Key Agri, and MR Trans & Serafin Ag, as well as the many major and in-kind sponsors who contributed in countless ways.
The 2026 ARB Australian Off Road Racing Championship will now turn its attention to Round 2, the Waikerie Hotel Riverland Enduro; held over the 10th-12th of July.
✍️ TC Media
Pics courtesy of Show ‘n’ Go Media
Photo credit: Show ‘n’ Go Media
Photo credit: Show ‘n’ Go Media
