Nathan Smith (left) is at the wheel but Blair Gillam will be pulling some key levers. PHOTO/BEVAN CONLEY
Blair Gillam is used to four-wheel drive. It's been that way ever since a car accident 12 years ago meant his life was going to be spent in a wheelchair.
But the 31-year-old, with an attitude that is always up-tempo, has an unquenchable need for speed, so he's hopping out of his chair and into the co-driver's seat in Nathan Smith's "truck" and tackling the national 4x4 series.
At the time of his accident, the then 19-year-old was working at the Whakapapa skifields as a lift operator and living in Turangi.
In his words, he "stacked into a couple of power poles" on his way home. But despite that life change, his outlook didn't change.
He was a keen skier at the time, so he simply embraced the challenge of having to learn a completely new way of skiing.
It's this outlook on life even fully functional people would struggle to match.
In the meantime, however, skiing has been on the backburner since his daughter arrived on the scene six years ago.
Blair has always been interested in four-wheel drive vehicles. "If I can't walk there, at least I can get my truck there."
He works at the Hunting and Fishing store in Palmerston North and is still an active hunter, heading into the bush on a quad bike. And it was that passion for the outdoors that had him meet up with Nathan and Lois Smith, dairy farmers in the Turakina Valley. The husband and wife team competed last year, and Lois was expecting to hop into the co-driver's seat this year, but something happened to change that. That "something" was Blair.
"He's a four-wheel drive enthusiast. He works like everyone else, he's a dad and has a beautiful partner in Abbey. But Blair's a true inspiration to many, including myself, Nathan and our boys," she said.
"So I decided to step away from the truck this year and let Blair step in.
"He'll be the first paraplegic ever to compete in the national trials. The Wanganui 4x4 Club is right behind him and supporting his every move."
The truck the pair will barrel around the national series in is powered by a supercharged six-cylinder Holden engine.
For Blair, it was just a matter of "tagging along and giving it go". With Nathan at the wheel, his job is to take care of the hand-braking required. Their truck is competing in D Class, the open class. The truck is lightweight but boasts masses of power, so braking some wheels to get the power to other wheels is vital to its performance.
"I'm allowed to co-drive this year. In the rules there are certain regulations about acceleration and all that sort of stuff, so they may have to be rewritten for physically disabled people like me," Blair said.
Unlike other co-drivers, he won't be walking the track to reconnoitre the layout prior to an event. He will leave that to Nathan. Walking the track gives the team a good look at the highs and lows of the course. And in this sport there are plenty of them, with mind-boggling climbs and stomach-dropping descents. And that's before they get to the bog holes.
"I've got a lot to learn - things like understanding how to look at the hazards on the circuit, that sort of stuff," Blair said.
Nathan said the fact his co-driver cannot walk the track will make his job a bit different "because I won't be getting any advice from him".
Blair does not see that as a problem; for him it is a signal they will just be going a bit faster.
There is a club meet early next month and it will be a try-out for the duo before tackling the nationals.
Blair's determination has probably opened a can of worms for the sport's controllers in terms of rules and regulations, but he is not concerned.
"It would have been easier for them to say no but they didn't. But I'd still have been talking to you if they said no. The conversation would have just had a different tone," he said.
Both driver and co-driver are well buckled into their seats but Nathan said the governing body may have had concerns about how would Blair get out of their truck if it was upside down or caught fire.
"In reality, Blair would get out quicker than me. He can lift himself and manoeuvre around as good as gold," Nathan said.
Nathan's truck is second-hand but he is building a new one. When that is completed, the plan is for Blair to hop into the driver's seat of the old one.
Blair's partner Abbey Harrison said she was "scared" for him taking the co-driver's seat.
"More for the fact I don't want him to get hurt. But it's something he really wants to do, so I'm right behind him."