25/07/2026
Thomas Plant Hire Battlegrounds is coming up fast!
It’s a stacked field of competitors going into battle and we are sponsoring the happy hour once again🤟🏻
The happy hour is the last chance qualifier so it makes for some top tier action.
Goodluck to everyone heading out.
🔥 HOW BATTLEGROUNDS 2026 WORKS 🔥
📍 TWO CLASSES — Same Heat
Battlegrounds has two competition classes:
🏆 Pacific Blue Pools and Spas Challenge Class
🏆 Bud's Customs Open Class
Each heat contains competitors from both classes. Everyone starts and races together, but competitors are only racing against the other vehicles in their own class within that heat.
A one-hour DNF cutoff applies to each heat.
🏁 THE Dankav Developments RACE TRACK
Each heat is run over a set number of laps around the DANKAV Race Track.
Teams will battle through our major obstacles, including:
⚡ Precise Automotive Services Land Rush Start
⚡ Thomas Plant Hire Portal
⚡ Dobinsons Spring & SuspensionHornets Nest
⚡ Alora Valley Earthmoving Bunker
⚡ Energized Mechanical Man Made
⚡ RDG Engineering Pty Ltd Hell’s Kitchen
One of the biggest benefits of Battlegrounds is that we can change the obstacles between heats, keeping race teams on their toes and the course tough all weekend long.
🏁 FRIDAY — ROUND ROBIN BEGINS
⛩ Racing starts at 12:00pm Friday, with six Round Robin heats throughout the afternoon.
Rocky 4x4 Mechanix Chaos Round 1
⌚ 12:00pm, 12:30pm and 1:00pm
Rocky 4x4 Mechanix Chaos Round 2
⌚ 3:00pm, 3:30pm and 4:00pm
These are our Chaos Rounds, where competitors may encounter vehicles from another heat, deal with traffic and race on a course that is constantly changing however only placing within their heat.
🏕 FRIDAY NIGHT — AFTER DARK
Once Friday’s racing finishes, we slow things down for Battlegrounds After Dark.
Come and hang out around the fire, the food vendors and meet the drivers, check out the competing cars and enjoy a relaxed Friday-night social before racing fires back up Saturday morning.
🏁 SATURDAY MORNING — ROUND ROBIN CONTINUES
Round Robin racing resumes from 7:00am Saturday, with the remaining six heats starting at:
Bossy Rural Fencing & Farm Maintenance Chaos Round 3
⌚ 7:00am, 7:30am and 8:00am
Bossy Rural Fencing & Farm Maintenance Chaos Round 4
⌚ 10:30am, 11:00am and 11:30am
Every team races four times in total:
🏁 Two races Friday
🏁 Two races Saturday morning
Placings are awarded based on where each vehicle finishes within its own class. The placings from all four races are combined to determine each team’s position heading into the finals.
📍 SATURDAY LUNCH — FINALS SEEDING
At 12:30pm, the Round Robin results will be announced and teams will be seeded into the finals brackets.
From there, racing becomes knockout competition:
⌚ 1:30pm — Winners Semi Final
⌚ 2:20pm — Losers Semi Final
⌚ 4:00pm — Losers Final
In each finals race, the top half of each class moves forward into the next bracket.
The bottom half from the Winners side drops into the Losers Bracket, where they get one more chance to keep their weekend alive.
Once you are racing through the Losers side, another bottom-half finish means your Battlegrounds campaign is over…
Or is it? ⬇️⬇️⬇️
📍 SATURDAY NIGHT — HillFab HAPPY HOUR
At 6:30pm Saturday, it is time for Happy Hour.
Happy Hour is the last-chance qualifier, eligible for teams that have not already secured a place in Sunday’s Final. Top place getters from each class secure their place in the final.
Happy Hour will be based around our Man Made Area, so grab a chair, make your way up and get comfortable for the evening.
🎤 SUNDAY MORNING — FINALISTS’ PRE-SHOW
Before the Final begins, the remaining teams and vehicles will be presented on the Main Stage.
Come and meet the finalists, check out the cars and hear from the teams before they head to the start line for the biggest race of the weekend.
🏆 SUNDAY — THE FINAL
The remaining Open Class and Challenge Class teams line up for one final battle.
The first vehicle across the finish line wins the 2026 Thomas Plant Hire Battlegrounds and holds the Battlegrounds Champions Belt for the next 12 months.
The top 3 finishing vehicles from each class will also be awarded on the stage.
