Stag hits trouble on TransAm rally

With just five days until the crews reach the finish line of the TransAmerica Rally, the event leaders are battling to get their Triumph Stag back on the road.

Phil Garratt and Kieron Brown have led the pack in the V8-powered classic since the event started on 6 June, but it broke down in the Yellowstone National Park. 

Believed to be the first Stag ever to take on an endurance rally, the car arrived in Idaho Falls on the back of a flatbed truck after the Triumph lost its transmission. 

The news might not be all bad, though, we hear that a differential and seals are being shipped in from Arizona on an overnight service and that a garage in Idaho Falls where they 'work on old cars' has offered to help them put it all together.

Everyone is willing them on to the finish line, but this is a tough repair to make in the time available. The clock starts ticking again tomorrow and with only seven seconds between them and Peter and Zoe Lovett's Porsche 911T, the Stag’s lead is all but over. 

Phil and Kieron have never not finished an Endurance Rally and we fully expect that they won't change this habit. The winners of the Peking to Paris 2013 will be fighting hard to make the finish line at San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel on Sunday.

Having travelled 7182 kilometres, there is only 2318 to go until the race ends. 

Crews are scheduled to cross into California today, heading for Elko before arriving in Reno tomorrow for a final rest day before the final two days of driving that will take competitors onto Highway 1 and across the Golden Gate Bridge.