R.T. : Perhaps I should start with the most obvious of questions: what made you start off road racing and when did you fall in love with the sport?
S.B. : I started driving off road at an early age, as I spent most of my youth on a neighbors farm and from there I went on to grass track racing and stock cars. It wasn't until the early nineties that I started off roading competitively as there was very little 4x4 competitions. I suppose you would have to say that events like the Camel Trophy inspired me.
R.T. : And from there, how did you get the idea to start Devon 4X4?
S.B. : After several ventures I went back to my roots and the motor trade. I specialized in the buying and selling of 4x4 vehicles and the business was called Devon 4x4 Centre. It wasn't until several years later that we started carrying out customer work or selling 4x4 equipment. I used to read all the 4x4 magazines from cover to cover especially the articles about the very early challenge events. I was desperate to have a go, but first it was necessary to build the business in order to be able to afford the cost of competing. Eventually I started competing with my every day Land Rover and it wasn't very long before other competitors were asking me to build parts for their cars and shortly after this we were asked if we would be interested in selling Warn winches. I discussed this with my wife Liz and decided that we should give it a go. From there if you sell winches you may as well sell bumpers and then suspension and the rest is history.
R.T. : What was your biggest setback in the development of the company?
S.B. : I don't believe there has been any major setbacks, in the very early days I put myself off work for 2 months after rolling a racing quad quite badly which when you're a one man band is very costly.
R.T. : What about your biggest breakthrough?
S.B. : I believe that life presents you with a series of opportunities, a little like a road map and the choices that you make determine your future. I don't think that there were any major breakthroughs. However if I were forced I suppose the decision to sell winches was the catalyst that helped shape the future of Devon 4x4.
R.T. : For many Devon fans, you live the ultimate lifestyle, having managed to combine hobby and work into a successful business. What is the key to this success?
S.B. : I was quite lucky in as far as I didn't set out to build a 4x4 mail order business so it developed very slowly over a number of years alongside my other business interests.
R.T. : Do you think that there is a real decline in popularity of the off road cars? If so, what is your explanation for it, and the diminishing of off road areas in Europe?
S.B. : No! I think that off roading is more popular than ever, however there are a lot smaller and local events which tends to dilute the entries on some events.
R.T. : In a previous discussion we had, you argued that race trucks should be modified to an extent that they are still recognizable as cars and not fall on the extreme buggy style vehicles. Could you expand on this subject please?
S.B. : I think that perhaps you misunderstood me, I like and respect all off road disciplines some of the engineering in the rock crawling buggies is awesome and the trucks that are built to compete in events such as the Ladoga are just staggering. Events like the Camel Trophy always inspired me. Man and machine against the elements - and that is the type of event that I personally prefer and to that end I think that the vehicles should be recognizable as manufactures vehicles and should be capable of competing on an endurance type event without the need for lots of support trucks. I suppose the adventure is very important to me. I also like the rally raid style events where of course you need support vehicles, as it is more like a long distance race.
R.T. : What competitions have you won throughout your career? Which win was the most important for you, on a personal level?
S.B. : I've had quite a lot of success nationally over the years but the most important win came in 2002 when we won the Rainforest Challenge of Malaysia.
R.T. : Tell me please, what did you find to be the most important qualities one should possess in order to be a successful pilot/driver?
S.B. : I think that the best drivers are those that are able to read the ground in front of them.
R.T. : What about the qualities of a good Challenge truck?
S.B. : I like to keep things simple and functional. That generally brings reliability.
R.T. : Tell me please about the cars you presently hold, as well as their specific purposes. Most known is your latest (if I'm correct saying "latest") project, the Defender 110 Tray-Back Challenge truck thats on display at the Billing Show this year, as well as your Rally Raid Freelander.
S.B. : I have two trucks, the first is my TD5 90 which I use for UK events, we built the truck about 3 years ago. It is automatic with ARB locking diffs and an 8274 front and rear. It sits on a 2" lift by Old Man Emu and it usually runs on Simex 35x11.50x15 ET's. It is currently in the work shop being stretched to 100" and the rear body work is being replaced by a tray back to try and limit damage.
My second truck is a 110" 4.6 V8 auto tray back, this truck was built to replace our Bobtail Range Rover and was built to be used on international endurance events such as the Out Back Challenge of Morocco. This truck holds 170lts of fuel and carries all of its own spares, other than it has twin shocks on the rear, the set up is very similar to my TD5.
The Desert Warrior (Freelander) belongs to a friend of mine. He bought the car but had never competed and asked that I might help with the driving and navigation on the Tuareg Rally. As it turned out I navigated and just advised on driving technique from time to time. Given that I'm a nervous passenger, I was surprised how much that I enjoyed the navigation and certainly learnt a lot from the experience.
R.T. : What was your most demanding off road experience yet?
S.B. : The Rainforest Challenge of Malaysia has to be the most challenging event not just because of the terrain but also the environment, you either love the jungle or you hate it. Personally I think that it is absolutely fantastic.
R.T. : Everyone knows that motor sports, particularly this one, pose some risks. What do you think are the risks worth taking and which are the ones worth avoiding in a competition?
S.B. : That's a difficult question. I think that sometimes we take risks when we are competing that given time to think about it you perhaps wouldn't take. We all have pet hates or things that make us nervous. (I won't be telling you mine) I remember on one particular event during a night section myself and my team mate (two car event) needed to reach a point some distance away, the quickest route was to drive down a fairly steep hill, it turned out to be a lot steeper than we expected but never the less it was no problem and off we went.
The following evening in the bar my team mate confessed that it was the most frightening thing that he had ever done in his life, yet on occasion I've had to follow him and I've been nervous so I guess its down to the individual. At the end of the day you need to avoid serious injury and or worse death at all costs.
The other point to remember - taking risks damages the car and if you're on a multi day event you won't win if you break the car on day 2, obviously if you have support trucks you can be very hard on the car but if you have to be self sufficient you have to look after your truck and drive accordingly.
R.T. : What projects are you presently working on?
S.B. : Currently I'm concentrating on stretching my 90 to 100". After that I would like to look at building a truck that is a cross between a challenge truck and a rally raid truck. Basically something that will cover both disciplines without to many alterations for either type of event. We'll have to wait and see.
R.T. : Most off road lovers tend to give up the hobby when they start a family. How did you manage to blend the two?
S.B. : I have a very understanding wife and son. Without their support it would not have been possible.
R.T. : What are your plans for the near future?
S.B. : I will continue to build my business and look forward to doing some more endurance events. You never know, one day I might make it to the Transylvania Adventure Trophy, I would certainly like too."
