Track test: Mazda BT-50 SuperUte

Utes are big business Down Under – and we’re not talking the two-door V8 type you can’t buy any more.

Last year more than 200,000 pick-ups were registered in Australia, accounting for almost 20 per cent of the entire new-vehicle market. Australia’s new car hit parade was topped by the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger.

Sales of the imported one-tonners grew faster than everything except mid-size SUVs and the biggest sellers among them were high-spec and highly profitable 4x4 twin-cabs, which are now best-sellers for Toyota, Ford, Mitsubishi, Holden and Isuzu.

Fact is dual-cab pick-ups are more popular than Australian-made Commodore and Falcon utes ever were, thanks to their combination of space, weekend-friendly towing and tradie-friendly utility and performance.

So it’s no surprise that from this year, diesel dual-cab SuperUtes have replaced V8 Utes as one of the official support categories that run alongside selected rounds of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship (VASC).

So far six models have been homologated for the 2018 East Coast Bullbars SuperUtes Series – effectively one from almost every major car-maker. HiLux and Ranger, plus the Mitsubishi Triton, Holden Colorado, Mazda BT-50 and Isuzu D-MAX are all approved for the series.

Action in the SuperUtes’ inaugural season has attracted plenty of attention but also some controversy following more than a few rollovers and less than full grids.

Just as the organisers and the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) hoped, however, the production-based ute series has attracted young talent and produced plenty of close racing, thanks in part to an official Supercars-approved control specification race kit that increases safety and performance while ensuring parity across all models.

SuperUtes might be based on weekday workhorses, but these trucks take the weekend warrior concept to a new level.

Like the V8 Utes they replace, SuperUtes are rear-wheel drive (not four-wheel drive like the models they’re based on), but that’s where the similarities end.

Along with the four-door crew-cab layout, the showroom theme continues with turbo-diesel power under the bonnet.

Engines and exhaust manifolds must be original fitment, but the turbo, inlet manifold, intercooler, radiator, sump and exhaust can be modified.

Complete engine/transmissions, including a control Tremec 6060 manual gearbox with control ratios and an Xtreme Outback 230mm twin-plate ceramic clutch kit, are supplied and sealed by Craig Stead Engineering.

A clever new rear axle assembly and cradle was also developed locally by Payce Innovations, to replace the leaf-sprung rear-end in all vehicles homologated so far.

A control tailshaft, 9.0-inch Ford differential and Detroit locker are also included and a category controlled Motec ECU is mandated to monitor performance across vehicles.

To ensure parity, SuperUte engine outputs are limited to 340bhp (250kW) and 500ft/lb (680Nm), all vehicles must weigh 1800kg -- making them not only far more powerful than stock but also much lighter -- and all must drive their rear wheels.

The Supercars control kit also includes coil-over SupaShock dampers and springs at all four corners, new anti-roll bars at both ends, Brembo brake discs with six-piston front and four-piston rear callipers, a Tilton pedal box and master-cylinders incorporating brake bias adjuster, 20-inch control wheels and Yokohama tyres, and a Motec data logger.

The locally developed SuperUtes race package costs about $65,000 plus a further $10,000-odd to install, depending on how much you can manage yourself.

Naturally, you’ll need all the requisite race safety gear including a CAMS-approved roll cage unique to each model, an FIA-spec race seat, harness and window net, fire extinguisher, battery isolator and recovery hooks, etc.

All up, you can build a race-ready SuperUte for well under $100,000, if you source a second-hand or damaged donor car.

That might sound expensive, but it’s less than the annual lease price of a Formula 4, which is now Australia’s official national entry-level open-wheeler category.

And while a second-hand Formula Ford is cheaper, $100K won’t even buy you a new FF chassis these days.

So what kind of pace does this buy you? According to insiders, a bigger improvement in lap times than a V8 Ute, which at Queensland Raceway is about 8sec quicker than the production model it’s based, while a SuperUte is about 16sec quicker than standard.

But the fact is SuperUtes remain five seconds slower than V8 Utes around QR, and at longer and more challenging tracks like Mount Panorama they’re more than 15sec slower (and 8sec slower than the Toyota 86 racers). And compared to David Reynolds’ new 2:06.3 Supercars record, SuperUtes are on another planet at 2:47.6.

But there’s more to motorsport than pure lap times, as demonstrated by the dicing, barging and biffing taking place in this year’s inaugural SuperUtes series, where talent and race craft has shone through.

So when front-running SuperUtes team Peters Motorsport invited us to try out its Bushranger Racing Mazda BT-50 at Brisbane’s Lakeside Raceway recently, we couldn’t wait to don our racesuit and work boots to see what all the fuss is about.

Burbling in the Lakeside pitlane, there’s no mistaking the Bushranger BT-50 for any other kind of race car, or should we say truck.

No, SuperUtes aren’t the first hay-haulers to hit the track, but Australia’s low-slung V8 Utes were based on homegrown passenger cars. North America’s bespoke NASCAR Trucks on the other hand look more like their sedan and coupe siblings, and Robbie Gordon’s global Stadium Super Trucks look like the love child of a Dakar trophy truck and a Global Rallycrosser.

In short, the SuperUtes are instantly recognisable as something more commonly seen at a construction site or potato farm, even when wrapped in sponsor’s livery and fitted with big 20-inch wheels.

There’s also a control barge board under doors, which not only helps make the SuperUtes look lower to the ground and prevents them spearing underneath each other, but serves as a useful side step to make clambering inside easier.

Yes, it’s a big step up into the Bushranger Mazda. But as with any tin-top racer, it’s a tight squeeze between the roll cage’s side intrusion bars (especially with a helmet on) and, once inside, it’s all business.

In fact, once strapped tight into the snug race seat and five-point race harness, it could be any other race car.

Despite being subject to a full rebuild after its second violent rollover earlier this year, the track-spec Bushranger Mazda ute is impeccably presented and everywhere you look is top-flight motorsport engineering.

Stripped out and painted all-white, there’s nothing unnecessary here; just a small steering wheel, three alloy pedals, a Motec instrument display and data-logger, and a row of toggle switches overhead.

I waited in vain for instructions on what (and what not) to do next, but Peters Motorsport principal Rod Dawson and general manager Brett Peters just looked blankly at me.

“What ya waiting for?” asked young star driver Aaron Cameron, who logged his first on the Gold Coast and currently lies third in the SuperUtes pointscore (with just the finale remaining at the Coates Hire Newcastle 500 on Nov 23-25).

“It’s just like a normal car to drive.”

And so it was. After selecting first gear with the H-pattern manual shifter and easing out the stiff, short-throw clutch pedal, the Bushranger BT burbles out of pitlane sounding more like a hairy-chested big-bore V8 than a 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbo-diesel.

Burying the throttle is accompanied by the kind of thrust no standard dual-cab driver has ever experienced and, at full noise on the front straight, the sound becomes more like a highly-stressed petrol V6 than any oil-burner I’ve ever heard.

The other big surprise is how much brake pedal pressure is required to pull the SuperUte up for corners, even after the big Brembos had warmed up and even with the help of well-placed pedals that make heel-toe downshifting a doddle.

That’s a factor of the weight at play here, which is especially evident in corners and exacerbated by the high seating position (which comes with the huge window openings to provide a great view in all directions).

Nevertheless the Bushranger BT-50 appears to defy physics with the cornering grip and speed it can generate – and the flat body attitude it maintains while doing it.

But all that composure evaporates when it comes to getting out of corners – especially off-camber turns and tighter bends like Lakeside’s Carousel, where the mammoth 680Nm of torque easily overwhelms the rear Yokohamas.

The narrow torque band, delivered between just 2000-4000rpm, makes getting out of corners cleanly difficult to say the least. As you press on it’s hard to know how much the rear tyres are turning until you’re going sideways.

Luckily there’s surprisingly good steering response and feel, which made it easy to correct that oversteer at the pace I was going. That said, the light-switch-delivery of all that torque makes sideways action there for the taking at any speed. Taily is the word and SuperUtes are challenging to drive at full pace, to say the least.

After wrestling the steering wheel and brake pedal inside the loud and hot BT-50 around Lakeside for a few laps, I’m a lather of sweat and ready for a rest.

So I head back to the pits with a new-found respect for the guys that rub doors and bumpers while driving these trucks sideways on the throttle at speed around tracks like Mount Panorama.

Anyone that says SuperUtes have produced pedestrian racing in their first season has no appreciation of the hard work, skill and bravery that goes on inside them… And the development work that’s still happening underneath.

Yes, a free-revving petrol engine would make them faster, but also further from the production models on which they’re based.

There’s no doubt that more trucks on the grid and manufacturer support is what SuperUtes need. With more brands getting in on the pick-up act (even Mercedes-Benz!), those extra utes will come.

Imagine a field of 35 SuperUtes including the existing six existing brands battling with trucks from Nissan, Volkswagen, Renault, SsangYong, Great Wall, Mahindra, LDV, Foton, Tata, JMC and, eventually, Hyundai, Kia, Jeep and RAM?

What’s certain is that SuperUtes is here to stay, and with a relatively cheap entry price, national television exposure and the right level of parity for young talent to stand out, it will only get better… And even more sideways!

How much does a Bushranger Racing Mazda BT-50 cost?
Price: Vehicle cost plus $60,000 race kit and installation
Engine: 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbo-diesel
Outputs: 250kW/680Nm
Engine mods: Turbo, inlet manifold, intercooler, radiator, sump, exhaust, Xtreme Outback 230mm twin-plate ceramic clutch, Motec ECU
Suspension: Rear sub-frame and four coil-over SupaShocks
Brakes: Brembo six-piston front and four-piston rear calipers, Brembo discs, Tilton pedal box and master-cylinder with brake-bias adjuster
Wheels/tyres: 20-inch/Yokohama
Safety: Bespoke CAMS rollcage, FIA seat/harness