Racing tractors has always been something of a fringe activity though tractor pulling – where their intended use is put to the test – does hit the mainstream occasionally.

Yet now that tractors themselves are increasing in speed and road manners, they are starting to attract the attention of those involved in more time-disciplined motor sports.

And it is not just amateur race teams either, for a joint effort by Valtra and Nokian Tyres set a speed record for a tractor on ice of 130kph, a somewhat parochial achievement though it did demonstrate the increasing capabilities of the modern machine.

Rally tractor in desert — Morocco provides some tough desert conditions to test the vehicles taking part in the rally

Now Massey Ferguson have joined the fray, by lending their support to a privateer entry in the Morocco Desert Challenge, as was reported by Agriland back in April.

Rally tractor close-up

On a recent trip to Massey Ferguson’s Beauvais factory in northern France, journalists were given the chance to have a closer look at the actual tractor that will take on the challenge and find out a little more about the team that entered it.

The idea was that of Gilles Kuffer, a director of Kufferagri Sàrla, a Massey Ferguson dealer based at Yens, right in the heart of Switzerland.

Kuffer approached Massey Ferguson, which mulled over the proposal before not only agreeing to the project but also donating not one, but two MF 8S Dyna E-Power tractors for the event – the reason two were donated being that that one would be built as the rally machine itself while the other was there for spare parts should they be needed.

400 horses

The actual model of 8S was immaterial, as the modifications would transcend any specifications of the original machines.

The 7.4L AGCO Power engine was tuned to 400hp, for instance, while Michelin Evobib VF 600/70 R30 on the front and VF 710/70 R42 at the rear replaced the standard tyres.

There was also a PTG central tyre inflation system, which, thanks to an 1,800L/min compressor, was capable of a 3.5-minute inflation or deflation time.

During the rally, the block pattern Evobibs were run at a pressure of between 0.6 and 1 bar, depending on conditions.

Naturally, there was the need to fit a roll protection frame. In addition to this, another rear frame for carrying two tyres and a crane was added, all fabricated by the team in just six weeks.

Built-in jacks

Handling the tyres is just half the job when changing a wheel – the other requirement is to lift the tactor off the ground.

To do this, extendable hydraulic legs were fitted at both the front and rear, raising it around half a metre or so off the ground within a minute.

tractor jacked up — The built-in jacks fore and aft made good use of the hydraulics in preparing the tractor for maintenance

With the engine tuned to 400hp, the exhaust note takes on a much more aggressive and thrilling note, and also tears up any legislative limits on the decibel count for normal tractors.

There was a lot of work done on the outside of the machine, yet it was more than matched by what went on inside the cab, which needed some serious rejigging of its layout to meet the safety standards demanded by the rally organisers.

Seating arrangements

The most obvious alteration needed was the repositioning of the seats, for both the driver and navigator needed a fully harnessed unit, rendering the stand item and the passenger dickey seat totally unsuitable.

To fit both seats in between the wheel arches, the driver’s had to be moved over to the right to allow room for the co-driver.

This meant that the steering wheel and foot pedals also had to be shifted sideways, taking the driver from the centre of the tractor.

The centre console with steering wheel was shifted to the right to allow room for two fully harnessed seats

This was done by moving the entire centre console over, giving room for the navigators electronic aids and equipment to be mounted between the console and the left-hand door.

While this might seem a reasonably modest change, Kuffer pointed out that it does make a significant difference to driving a machine that is designed to be controlled from the middle.

Long-range tanks

Other changes brought to the 8S were a second fuel tank, modification of the front axle suspension, and a 75kph top speed.

The glass in the side windows was also replaced by polycarbonate and camera mirrors installed.

Altogether Kuffer believes that around 2,800 manhours went into preparing the machine, which took place in a little over a month as it was left rather close to the event before the final decision to go was made.

Acrylic side windows — Acrylic replaced the glass in the side windows as a safety measure

That is a remarkable burst of effort from all involved in building the rally tractor, all the more so when the standard of work is considered.

Nothing has been thrown together willy-nilly, it is well engineered and thought out, leaving the impression that while Massey Ferguson may have only given the green light a matter of weeks before the event, Kuffer and his team had a pretty good idea of how they were going to do it well before they started.

How much?

On the subject of total cost, there was a vagueness about the final figure.

The total man hours are known, there is the price of two tractors ex-factory, although it is not known how much of the second one was returned to Massey Ferguson, while the one firm figure given was that entry fees and transport came to €46,000.

Yes, having a good deal of money available is essential, but the achievement of coming fourth in the Truck Class, and 75th out of a total entry of 144, makes it money well spent and buys a good deal of positive attention for Massey Ferguson.

Rally tractor in sand — The project was not cheap but demonstrated the rugged virtues of the MF brand

Unfortunately, the language barrier prevented too close a questioning of Kuffer when he presented the rally tractor on the day, but what was clearly evident was his huge energy and enthusiasm for the project.

It was this that shone through more than anything else, and once again goes to prove that it is people with passion that get things done, and done well – a lesson for us all.

Rally tractor close-up

400 horses

Built-in jacks

Seating arrangements

Long-range tanks

How much?

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The rally tractor Gilles built, with a little help from MF