Mamba Racing Shocks Completes Third Consecutive FIA AXCR

Mamba Racing Shocks completes its third consecutive Asia Cross Country Rally, supporting GWM TANK 300 race cars and Indonesian rally driver Memen Harianto with its 3.0-inch adjustable shock absorbers.

The 2026 FIA Asia Cross Country Rally (AXCR) has officially concluded after nearly 2,000 kilometers of demanding competition across a wide variety of challenging terrain. For Mamba Racing Shocks, the event marked another major real-world test of its high-performance off-road suspension technology on the international motorsport stage.

At this year’s AXCR, Mamba Racing Shocks supported the GWM Thailand EK Group Racing Team in the production-based T2 category, with its suspension systems fitted to the team’s GWM TANK 300 rally vehicles.

Mamba also expanded its involvement in the event by supporting Indonesian rally driver Memen Harianto in the T1 category, allowing the company to validate its 3.0-inch adjustable shock absorbers across different race vehicles, categories and driving styles.

The 2026 event also marked Mamba Racing Shocks’ third consecutive year competing in the FIA Asia Cross Country Rally, underlining the company’s long-term commitment to using motorsport as a platform for product testing, technical development and international market expansion.

GWM TANK 300s Finish Fourth and Sixth in the T2 Category

The GWM Thailand EK Group Racing Team entered the 2026 AXCR with TANK 300 rally vehicles competing in the T2 production-based category.

Equipped with Mamba Racing Shocks, drivers Olan Sornsirirat and Thovald Thovaldsen successfully completed the demanding multi-stage rally, finishing fourth and sixth respectively in the T2 category.

Unlike highly modified T1 competition vehicles, T2 rally cars retain a closer relationship with their production-vehicle platforms. This places significant demands not only on the vehicle itself, but also on the integration, durability and consistency of its suspension system.

Throughout the AXCR, competitors encountered a constantly changing mix of high-speed gravel roads, mud, deep ruts, uneven terrain and repeated heavy impacts.

Under these conditions, shock absorbers must do far more than absorb individual impacts. They need to maintain consistent damping performance through hours of high-frequency operation while helping the vehicle remain stable and keeping the tires in effective contact with the terrain.

For a T2 rally vehicle based on the GWM TANK 300, suspension performance is therefore about much more than simply stiffness or suspension travel. Damping control, resistance to heat-related performance degradation, durability and adaptability across changing terrain all play critical roles.

Completing a long-distance, multi-stage international cross-country rally such as AXCR provides a demanding real-world validation of these capabilities.

Memen Harianto Leads T1 Petrol Category Through First Five Stages

Mamba Racing Shocks’ involvement in the 2026 AXCR extended beyond its cooperation with GWM Thailand EK Group Racing.

The company also supplied suspension support to Indonesian rally driver Memen Harianto, whose T1 race vehicle competed with Mamba’s 3.0-inch adjustable shock absorbers.

Compared with the production-based T2 category, T1 vehicles allow a significantly higher degree of competition-focused modification. Higher speeds and greater suspension loads place even more demanding requirements on shock absorber calibration, thermal management and durability.

Harianto delivered a strong performance throughout the rally and led the T1 petrol category through the first five stages.

Unfortunately, his challenge came to an early end during the final stage when his vehicle was forced to retire due to engine overheating, preventing him from converting his earlier advantage into a final result.

The retirement, however, was unrelated to the suspension system.

Following multiple stages of competition, Harianto gave positive feedback on the performance of the Mamba Racing Shocks 3.0-inch adjustable shock absorbers, recognizing their performance throughout the demanding rally conditions.

For Mamba, feedback from an experienced international rally driver provides valuable information beyond conventional testing.

Working with drivers from different countries, vehicle platforms and competition categories allows the company to collect a broader range of real-world data. Professional rally drivers are particularly sensitive to suspension support, rebound behavior, high-frequency bump control and vehicle stability at speed, making their feedback valuable for future suspension development and calibration.

Why Cross-Country Rallying Is the Ultimate Suspension Test

In cross-country rally competition, shock absorbers are not simply components designed to improve ride comfort. They are critical chassis components that directly influence vehicle speed, handling, stability and reliability.

Long-distance rallies such as AXCR create several major challenges for suspension systems.

The first is continuous high-frequency impact.

When a rally vehicle travels at speed across gravel, potholes, ruts and broken surfaces, its shock absorbers must repeatedly compress and rebound while maintaining consistent damping characteristics. Poor damping control can result in excessive wheel movement and body motion, reducing tire contact and making the vehicle more difficult to control.

The second challenge is heat management.

Continuous high-speed suspension movement generates significant heat. As temperatures rise, the operating characteristics of the damping fluid and internal components can change. Maintaining consistent damping performance under elevated temperatures is therefore one of the key requirements for professional off-road shock absorbers.

The third challenge is adaptability to changing terrain.

AXCR is not a single-surface event. Within the same rally — and sometimes within the same stage — competitors may encounter fast dirt roads, mud, deep ruts, rough technical sections and large impacts.

The suspension therefore needs to achieve an effective balance across very different operating conditions.

This is precisely why Mamba Racing Shocks continues to use motorsport as an important environment for product development and validation.

Mamba 3.0-Inch Adjustable Shock Absorbers Tested Under Extreme Conditions

One of Mamba Racing Shocks’ key products used during the 2026 AXCR was its 3.0-inch adjustable shock absorber, developed for demanding off-road applications.

The larger-diameter shock body provides greater internal capacity and supports thermal management during prolonged high-load operation. At the same time, adjustable damping allows suspension settings to be optimized according to vehicle weight, terrain, driver preference and individual stage requirements.

There is no single suspension setup that works perfectly for every form of off-road competition.

Fast gravel roads require strong body control and stability. Repeated bumps demand effective high-frequency suspension response. Large drops and severe impacts require sufficient support and energy absorption.

As a result, adjustability, damping consistency, thermal stability and durability under sustained high loads are fundamental characteristics for professional off-road suspension systems.

From the successful finishes of the GWM TANK 300 T2 rally vehicles to Harianto’s category-leading performance through the first five stages, the 2026 AXCR provided Mamba Racing Shocks with valuable opportunities to evaluate its 3.0-inch adjustable shock absorbers across different competition platforms.

Three Consecutive Years at AXCR: Racing as a Development Laboratory

The 2026 FIA Asia Cross Country Rally carries particular significance for Mamba Racing Shocks as it marks the brand’s third consecutive participation in AXCR.

For Mamba, sustained involvement in motorsport goes far beyond brand exposure.

Cross-country rallying serves as a real-world research and development environment where suspension components are subjected to conditions far more severe than those encountered during conventional road use.

Data collected after long-distance operation, driver feedback on different damping settings and post-race component inspections can all contribute to future product development.

This year’s program further expanded the scope of that validation.

By working with the GWM TANK 300 in the production-based T2 category while simultaneously supporting an Indonesian driver in T1 competition, Mamba was able to evaluate its suspension technology across different vehicles, competition regulations and operating conditions.

The brand’s presence throughout the 2026 AXCR also attracted attention from event organizers and other competitors, providing another opportunity for Mamba Racing Shocks to demonstrate the capabilities of Chinese-developed off-road suspension technology to an international audience.

For a Chinese automotive component brand expanding into overseas markets, competition provides a particularly direct form of product validation.

Specifications can describe what a component is designed to do. Motorsport demonstrates what it can actually withstand.

From Racing to Real-World Off-Road Products

Mamba Racing Shocks does not participate in motorsport simply to develop products exclusively for race vehicles.

A major objective of the company’s ongoing involvement in domestic and international off-road competition is to accelerate product validation under extreme conditions and transfer the resulting knowledge into its broader suspension product range.

Professional rally vehicles and recreational off-road vehicles operate in very different environments, but many fundamental suspension requirements remain the same.

Long-distance overland travel, unpaved roads, high ambient temperatures and sustained rough-road driving all require dependable suspension support, consistent damping and long-term durability.

Motorsport amplifies those demands.

Several days of international cross-country rally competition effectively compress an enormous amount of high-load suspension operation into a relatively short period. Damping settings, operating temperatures, performance across different terrain and post-race inspection data can therefore provide valuable references for future production development.

This approach reflects a development philosophy that Mamba Racing Shocks continues to pursue:

Validate technology through racing. Drive development with data. Transfer racing experience into products for real-world users.

With the conclusion of the 2026 FIA Asia Cross Country Rally, Mamba Racing Shocks has completed its third consecutive AXCR campaign — but its international motorsport journey is far from over.

The company plans to continue participating in domestic and international motorsport events, testing its products across a broader variety of vehicles, terrain and increasingly demanding competition environments.

At the same time, race data, driver feedback and suspension calibration experience will continue to contribute to the development and refinement of Mamba’s wider product portfolio.

From Chinese off-road competition to FIA international events, and from the GWM TANK 300 to purpose-built rally vehicles driven by international competitors, Mamba Racing Shocks is building its technical knowledge through real-world competition.

The racetrack is not only where performance is proven — it is where the next generation of products begins.

For off-road enthusiasts, overland travelers and performance-oriented drivers around the world, Mamba Racing Shocks aims to transform the experience gained under the extreme conditions of international motorsport into suspension products that are more reliable, more refined and better suited to demanding real-world off-road use.

—Written by Ricki·FEI, photos by GWM/Carperonline—