Rough Justice returns to super stock
20th Oct 2022
After suffering a catastrophic engine failure at Great Eccleston in August ’22, it appeared that the Rough Justice team reached something of a crossroads after many years in the sport, and dominating the BTPA’s pro stock class.
With what was left of the diesel engine finally removed from the chassis, the team had many nights head-scratching as it considered its future direction in the sport. The outcome is that we’ll see the tractor back on track for the 2023 season, but competing as a super stock machine.
It may be recalled that Rough Justice was initially built as a diesel super stock in 1992, under the ownership of Paul Williams (see lower-right photo). When father and son team Martin and Ted Nicholson bought the tractor in 1999, their direction was clear – pro stock.
A strong-running machine, Rough Justice was competitive in Europe on the ETPC’s Eurocup scene, and has topped the BTPA’s pro stock class many times. Now the team is taking the clean-burning alcohol-fuelled option, joining the up-and-coming limited super stock (LSS) class.
“We need to build a completely new engine to get back on track, so the time is right for a change of direction,” said Ted Nicholson. “The chassis has everything we need to join the LSS class, so we just need to learn an all-new fuel system and approach. It’ll be exciting to get stuck into something new, and hopefully we can repeat our successes as a limited super stock tractor.”
It will be great to see the tractor back on track, but seeing Ted and Martin with clean hands is something we’ll all struggle to get used to.
