New trucks and cars heat up offroad racing championship

• First chance for northern drivers to open their championship accounts
• Fresh challenges for established teams as new cars and trucks debut

It’s close at the top in offroad racing’s national championship. Five southern drivers share the lead and the northern teams are about to have their chance to catch up.
Down south, former Hawkes Bay racer Vince Harvey, Wayne Moriarty, Roger McKay, Brett Granger and defending champion Hamish Lawlor all took top points in their respective classes in a stadium-style short course race event at Easter to lead the championship.
Now the top North Island crews are racing to catch up as the first northern round of the championship brings spectacular short course race action to Meremere on April 28.
Championship mainstays including class one defending champion Malcolm Langley of Whakatane have already lodged entries for the event and there are a number of new race cars and trucks making their championship debut at Meremere to add heat to the championship battle. Two weeks out from the event confirmed entries have topped 32, with another 10-15 likely to come in before the event.
Tony McCall leads the roll-out in the unlimited race car class, readying his BSL Terra Chev V8-engined single-seater to challenge Malcolm Langley for a tilt at yet another championship title; Hamilton’s Paul Smith and Paraparaumu racer Paul Eayrs likewise in the mix.
In the unlimited truck class there will be a showdown between new trucks built to American Pro Lite rules, with Mike Cox of Rotorua, Nick Hall of Drury, William Van Der Wal of Levin and Graeme Steedman of Auckland all looking to bring their trucks to the championship battle and Justin Leonard’s non-Pro Lite Chev truck (pictured) in the midst of an engine swap to a Corvette V8 and also likely to front.
One stand-out entry is the VW Beetle formerly campaigned by Australian Roly Dixon, which makes its New Zealand championship debut at the hands of seasoned campaigner Maurice Bain of Opotiki.  The Beetle races in class nine but has proven itself well able to match the pace of the unlimited-class buggies.
Every finish, every point counts in the championship this year. The sport’s flagship international race, the Taupo 1000, takes place in September and the championship has been shortened to enable teams to budget for the big endurance race as well as the championship.
The first northern round of the 2013 New Zealand Offroad Racing Championship takes place at the ATR track, Dragway Road, Meremere on Sunday April 28, with racing starting at 10 am. Competition is in heats based on race car classes, and there are four heats for every class.
Spectator admission is $5 per person or $10 per car, and there will be food and drink for sale in the pit area.