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The wet and muddy track conditions added an extra layer of difficulty to the competition at Fieldays.
Despite the rain and a liberal coating of mud, engines roared, and the 50th Fieldays Tractor Pull Competition drew crowds of spectators across the four days of the annual event.
Contestants put their machines to the test in the challenging conditions, competing in categories determined by tractor and load weight, age and modifications.
For the first time in many years, the competition welcomed a South Island competitor all the way from Gore, along with a group from the Bay of Plenty.
The wet and muddy track conditions added an extra layer of difficulty to the competition.
Organiser Dan Reymer said that this year was one of the wettest years they've had for a long time.
"We lowered the kilowatt-per-kilo ratio just to get the tractors through the mud. There was still some seriously good racing out there, and it's as much about the driver's skill as the tractor's performance. The winners can come down to fractions of a second," said Reymer.
In the Weight Transfer class, with the aim to pull a tractor mounted sledge down the track, to which weight transfer is gradually added, the winner was contractor Trent Hickford.
Thomas Fare took out the Weigh-Adjusted competition, where two tractors race side by side pulling a concrete block, with its weight adjusted following a measure of horsepower on a dynamometer.
The winner of the Modified Tractor competition went to Wally Sinton, and the Pre-85 Class to Andrew Reymer.
The Brent Garrett Sportsmanship Award went to Rowland Amber and the First Time Entrant Award went to Fergus Goodwin, with the latter commenting, "I've been volunteering for Tractor Pull for over 10 years, and it's the first time I have entered, after peer pressure made me get in the cab".
Helping to power this year's golden anniversary celebrations was new Major Sponsor PTS Logistics, who joined returning sponsors, Corson Maize and Giltrap Agrizone.
Massey Ferguson has announced a strategic supply partnership with International Tractors Limited (ITL), a manufacturer of low-horsepower and compact tractors, with recognised brands such as Sonalika and Sollis, to expand its portfolio with a new tractor range.
With the biannual Italian EIMA machinery Expo less than a month away, Case IH has taken out a Technical Evolution award for the Advanced Vehicle Suspension system available on its Optum 360–440 series tractors.
The Advanced Vehicle Suspension system, available on Optum 360, 390, and 440 models, responds to changing conditions, automatically adjusting how the suspension reacts to absorbs shocks and controlling vehicle movement.
In operation, sensors monitor the vibrations transmitted from the tractor chassis to the operator cabin, allowing the system to adjust suspension damping in real time. The control system incorporates key priorities, such as comfort at lower speeds and stability as speed increases, while also reacting to factors such as lower tyre pressures, where the tyres absorb more of the initial shock.
Case IH said as suspension requirements change throughout the working day, as tractors move between the paddock and road transport, the system manages suspension response in the background as tasks, speeds and conditions change, leaving the operator without the need to make manual adjustments.
Richard Hollins, Optum series tractors global product manager, said: “Pioneering technology must earn its place in the working day. Farmers and contractors will judge an investment by what it delivers, including manageable ownership costs, dependable up-time and the versatility to tackle different jobs. With AVS, we are putting intelligent control to work for comfort and stability, without giving the operator another setting to manage.”
Organised by FederUnacoma, the Italian Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Federation, the contest has been part of EIMA since 1986, with the Technical Evolution distinction awarded to products that introduce original improvements to solutions already manufactured or patented.
www.caseih.com
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