![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/mark-thomas-nissan-gq-patrol-rockynats-6-3-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not the kind of vehicle you\u2019d expect to see lining up in a burnout comp or rolling onto Rockhampton\u2019s historic Quay Street to lay down a slick quarter-mile time during Rare Spares & Repco Rockynats. With its 40-inch tyres, towering suspension, and a build designed for mud, rocks and recovery rather than bitumen, Mark Thomas\u2019s GQ Patrol winch truck looks wildly out of place \u2013 and that\u2019s exactly the point.<\/p>\n
At Rockynats, where immaculately polished show cars and purpose-built, high-horsepower drag machines often steal the spotlight, Mark\u2019s heavily modi\ufb01ed Patrol proves you don\u2019t need a perfect, prize-winning show car to \ufb01nd your place at Queensland\u2019s biggest car and bike festival.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI just like to show people that it doesn\u2019t matter what car you have or what it was originally built for, at the end of the day, it\u2019s about having fun and doing what you love,\u201d Mark says.<\/p>\n
That mindset didn\u2019t start at Rockynats; it was forged decades earlier, when a young Mark \ufb01rst discovered his love for all things o\ufb00-road while growing up on a cattle property in Western Queensland. He spent his early years chasing pigs through the bush, getting bogged, breaking things and learning how to get himself back out again.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s where my love for four-wheel driving all began,\u201d he recalls. \u201cIt was the perfect way to learn, as I was always around di\ufb00erent machines, motorbikes and utes. One thing led to another, and I eventually discovered o\ufb00-road racing. I saw a few videos of people doing it as a sport, and I thought, \u2018I\u2019ve gotta get into this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Now calling Yeppoon home, Mark \ufb01rst brought his unique winch truck to Rockynats on the recommendation of good friend and fellow 4WD enthusiast Dave Casey, who encouraged him to show the truck at the event\u2019s 4\u00d74 display.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t so sure at \ufb01rst,\u201d Mark admits. \u201cI mean, it\u2019s clearly not your typical \u2018car show\u2019-style car, but Dave assured me it was something that would resonate with people. He was dead right \u2013 everyone loved it!\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/mark-thomas-nissan-gq-patrol-rockynats-6-4-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Since then, Mark and his truck have become a fan-favourite \ufb01xture in the Rockynats burnouts, drags, and 4WD displays. \u201cPeople don\u2019t expect to see this sort of car do what it does,\u201d he laughs. \u201cIt\u2019s got 40-inch tyres \u2013 pretty big for any car scene \u2013 and doesn\u2019t look like a car that should be anywhere near bitumen. But it\u2019s got a decent motor and big running gear underneath, so it can do burnouts and go fast in the drags. It\u2019s obviously not designed for it \u2013 it\u2019s built for o\ufb00-road racing \u2013 but I love showing people that it doesn\u2019t matter what type of car you have, you can still have a crack.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Rockynats is where many people \ufb01rst encountered Mark\u2019s unmistakable winch truck, the Patrol is much more at home in a harsher environment, with Mark and his wife Bianca regularly travelling up and down the east coast to compete in o\ufb00-road racing events under the Swamp Donkeez Racing banner.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been about 21 years now,\u201d he says. \u201cBack when we started, the sport wasn\u2019t really in the media. But I love what we do. It\u2019s fun, and I like being an advocate for it where I can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Competing so regularly at such a high level is a full-scale commitment, with Mark, Bianca and their team travelling to six or seven o\ufb00-road racing events each year, often spending days away from home at a time. Day-to-day, Bianca is Mark\u2019s backbone, while his o\ufb00-road crew help make race day possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cBianca is incredibly supportive, and I\u2019m lucky in that we run our own business and I\u2019ve got an auto electrician and \ufb01tter who work for me. So, when its race time, it\u2019s like, \u2018Come on boys, you\u2019re coming whether you like it or not!\u2019\u201d he laughs.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/mark-thomas-nissan-gq-patrol-rockynats-6-1-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Mark says he could never do what he does without the input of his trusted navigators, who know the pace, pressure and physical demands of o\ufb00-road. \u201cLuke\u2019s been navigating with me for years, and lately I\u2019ve had a young gun, Hayden, in with me as well,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019re both legends. You\u2019ve got to have someone you can trust, who\u2019s \ufb01t, energetic and totally committed sitting in that seat. I couldn\u2019t do it without them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The racing is high stakes, and the Swamp Donkeez Racing team lay it all on the line at every event, with the latest one being a prime example of how it doesn\u2019t always go to plan. \u201cWe had a big race at the end of last year and we were \ufb01ghting hard the whole time,\u201d Mark explains. \u201cThere was a lot of contact with trees, rocks and other cars, and by the end of it, we\u2019d made a fair mess of the truck. It hadn\u2019t been rebuilt for four or \ufb01ve years, so it was the perfect time to give it a bit of an upgrade.\u201d<\/p>\n
From the \ufb01rewall back, the Patrol has been completely reimagined, and Mark is in the \ufb01nal stages of the rebuild in preparation for Rockynats 6. The remaining traces of its original GQ chassis are gone, replaced by a full tube set-up, with suspension and shock placement inspired by trophy trucks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll be a lot tougher,\u201d Mark says. \u201cAnd it should perform a lot better too, so I\u2019m keen to see how it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/mark-thomas-nissan-gq-patrol-rockynats-6-2b-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
For Mark, Rockynats isn\u2019t just a weekend of speed and spectacle, it\u2019s a chance to celebrate what makes motorsport fun, inclusive, and community-oriented. \u201cWithout a doubt, the best part of Rockynats is the atmosphere,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s family-friendly and nothing is over the top. There are so many di\ufb00erent precincts and events you can get around and enjoy, and the cars that show up \u2013 man, they\u2019re unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s that energy and atmosphere that keeps Mark coming back to Rockynats year after year, even as o\ufb00-road racing continues to dominate his calendar. For one weekend, the tough truck trades rocks and ruts for rubber and bitumen, and Mark wouldn\u2019t have it any other way.<\/p>\n