RUITERMAN READY TO DEFEND HIS TITLE AT MANGAWHAI
Monday 14 March 2016, 7:55AM
By Mark Baker
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The road to the 2016 title begins here: Pukekohe racer Carl Ruiterman is ready to defend his 2015 northern title against all comers when the championship starts on Easter Saturday at Mangawhai.
The drift racer turned offroad champion is switching from Polaris to Yamaha, taking up the challenge of developing the new YXZ into a racer tuned to local conditions. He became North Island champion on the back of a stellar season in his Polaris, and says to challenge his grip on the trophy racers will need to be making the most of every point available to them from the first round onwards.
“If you’re not there you are not in the hunt. We’ve got our new YXZ, it’s been stripped to add the race gear we need to comply with ORANZ regulations and we are looking forward to Mangawhai.”
With the full seven-round championship going to a final round at Twizel in the South Island, Ruiterman is expecting stiff competition for the northern title. Entries in Easter’s opening round are already edging past 40, and drivers need to make the most of every northern round to be in with a chance at North Island titles.
Carl Ruiterman is the first drift racer to switch to the sport of offroad racing. A former motocross rider, he has also turned his hand to drag racing in the past. In 2007, he completed a grand slam of drift championship wins, taking out the D1NZ, NZ Drift Series and Drift revolution titles.
The one-day ENZED short course will be held on a farm on Hilltop Road outside the seaside village which is expected to suit the UTV race classes. Short course events are stadium-style heat-based events that bring out fierce competition between drivers. The short track format is spectacular and exciting. Racing starts at 10.15 am on Saturday 26 March, with three five-lap heats per class and a 15-lap feature race with all cars on-track at once to finish out the day. North Island titles are won over the three northern championship rounds: Mangawhai, Woodhill and a final event at Palmerston North.
The national titles are then decided at an all-in final at Twizel at Labour Weekend featuring both short course (stadium-style) heats and a punishing endurance race. Only a few northern racers – those in the running for national titles or attracted by the unique terrain of the Twizel course – are expected to make the 20-hour, 1,360 km trip south to challenge for the outright New Zealand title.
Leading entries in the ENZED Short Course event at Mangawhai, Easter 2016
Class 1
109 Alan Hilliam
150 John Morgan
157 Tony McCall
180 Mike Fraser
187 James Buchanan
197 Grant Sleeman
Class 2
246 Cameron Taylor
Class 3
314 Jason McKinstry
324 Brendon Midgely
327 Bryce McCall
341 Andrew Green
351 Zane Stanton
377 Mike Gibson
365 Jesse Bagley
Class 5
517 Nick Magness
Challenger
C01 Rick May
C07 Louise Lang
C18 Geoff Matich
C24 Ollie McCall
C32 Karl Burbage
C76 Ricky Jessen
NZ2 Campbell Witheford
Class 6
Warren Adams
Class 7
726 Jack Hellier
Class 8
808 Mike Preston
861 Nick Hall
Class U
U19 Kyle Van Harlingen
U48 Neil Abbott
U51 Mike Alexander
U83 Scott Munro
U87 Dyson Delahunty
Class S
S16 Joel Giddy
S22 Carl Ruiterman
Class J
J04 Canh Rave
J12 Harry Hodgson
J69 Andre England
J89 Brooklyn Horan