BRIBBAREE man Tom West has taken out several major awards in his first year of tractor pulling.
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He had a successful first season competing in Australian Tractor Pulling Association (ATPA) events.
So much so he just about needs a tractor to cart around all his trophies.
At the beginning of the season West made a goal to compete in all nine ATPA events, but little did he know the 25 placings he achieved would be his ticket into the national championships.
What makes West’s achievements even more astounding was that it was all done on a tractor he built himself. It took him four years to collect all the parts and eight weeks to build.
The result ‘Tommy’s Toy’.
The national championships saw West and his 750hp tractor come up against competitors boasting engines more than double the size.
But this wasn’t enough to stop West from securing the second place title, just short of South Australian racer Brett Harris in ‘Blown Income’.
“Brett has been running for about three to five years, his tractor is 3000hp...so to be up there with them - I’m just stoked,” West said.
“It’s pretty awesome for my first year - I’m absolutely rapt.”
But the achievements didn’t stop there.
West was invited to attend the ATPA AGM at Bendigo on July 12 where he took out a further two highly sought after awards.
The ATPA presented West with the Hooker of the Year trophy for competing in every event, as well as the John Parker Memorial encouragement award.
“I’m pretty blown away I won that, he (John Parker) was a legend - he started modified tractor pulling,” West said.
When asked how he felt about his achievements in his first season of the sport, it was beyond anything he could have imagined.
“I said ‘I’m going to try do every tractor pull [this season]’, but I didn’t think in my wildest dreams I’d do this well,” he said.
“The main highlight would be coming second in the championships and winning the John Parker Memorial, that’d be the highlight I reckon, definitely.”
See West in action at the Barmedman Tractor Pull on Saturday, October 18. Twilight meeting starting at 4pm.