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FRESH FAST CHALLENGE FACES OFFROAD RACERS AT CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

Thursday 18 October 2018, 12:40PM

By Mark Baker

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Spectacular race action all Saturday and Sunday at West Melton
Spectacular race action all Saturday and Sunday at West Melton Credit: Mark Baker
  • Biggest entry all year as the fastest racers come out to win titles
  • New fast spectacular course for opening day’s racing
  • National class and outright titles up for grabs

 

The fastest offroad racers gather in Christchurch this weekend to hammer out the final round of the 2018 ORANZ New Zealand Offroad Racing National Championship – and they meet on a new, faster track at West Melton.

Leading Christchurch racers will go up against drivers from as far away as Whangarei in two days of racing to decide both class and outright titles.
The turnout is the strongest in the seven round championship and includes several northern drivers who have chosen to contest southern regional rounds, thus getting early experience of the West Melton short course and endurance race tracks.
Mike Fraser, John Morgan and Brendon Midgley have all raced the Nelson, Christchurch and Kurow round of the series. Morgan has top points in the unlimited race car class and goes up against multiple New Zealand champion Tony McCall, who took the class title for the northern region. Another northern racer, Alan Hilliam, is equal on 88 points with Mike Fraser, while Midgley ended up fourth in class 3 for cars with engines up to 1.6-litres coming into this weekend.
A leading local hope is longtime competitor Bryan Chang in his GT Radials Chev Silverado. His key northern rival is unlikely to enter, but Chang does have to defend against and beat a half dozen of the big V8 trucks in order to win his class.
In the popular JG Civil UTV classes, Joel Giddy shares top modified-class points with Ian Cowan; defending champion Ben Thomasen is third. There is a similar north-south divide in the standard class, where Pukekohe’s Carl Ruiterman shares top points with ‘the Mayor of Milford’ Rosco Gaudin.
All racing is based at the Can Am Speedway on Weedons Ross Road at West Melton. The track has been extensively upgraded with new faster sections and the removal of a two-lane corner in favour of a wider, faster right hander. Organisers say the track’s daunting ‘tabletop’ jump on the front straight has been retained and the changes will deliver faster, more spectacular short course racing on Saturday. On the following day the teams take on an endurance race to decide the title, heading out from the short course circuit and into the forest and river tracks to the north. The enduro will be between 200-250 km long. There will be separate events for the sport’s youth category, Crabb Racing Kiwitrucks.

Gates open at 9.30 am both days with admission $10 per person, under 15 years are free.

-End-

 

Produced by Veritas Communications Limited for the Offroad Racing Association of New Zealand. For further information and images of leading entries please contact:

 

Mark Baker

Veritas

Mobile 021 2120607

 

2018 ORANZ New Zealand Offroad Racing Championship

Final round entries (Listings are driver and then car number)

Class 1 = 7 entries
Tony McCall 1
Dan Fisher 112
Daniel Powell 118
Jacob Brownlees 133
John Morgan 150
Mike Fraser 180
Greg Winn 190

4WD Bits Class 2 = 1 entry
Ron Crosby 250

Class 3 = 11 entries
Nigel Sutherland 301
Clim-Tristan Lammers 310
Brendon Midgley 324
Brendon Old 333
Braden Hill 353
Fergus Crabb 357
Jarrod Marwood 367
Phil Howlett 371
Grant Adamson 375
Joel Green 379
David Forsyth 381

Class 5 = 4 entries
Todd Graham 507
Nick Magness 517
Regan Swensson 545
Daniel Rusbatch 553

Class 7 = 2 entries
Connor Nicklin 710
Jack Hellier 726

4WD Bits Class 8 = 5 entries
Cam Stratford 836
Ricky Lane 842
Bryan Chang 847
Blair Prebble 852
Martin van der Wal 866

Class 10 = 1 entry
Sam Aitkens 1067

Class C = 8 entries
Sam Jury C16
John Strickett C22
Jorja Storer C24
Brooke Storer C42
Barry Phillips C52
Andrew Knight C69
Ian Simcox C73
Mark Goldstone C87

JG Civil UTV category

Class S = 11 entries
Ben Thomasen S1
Slim Slee S12
Joel Giddy S16
Nathan Moore S17
Hamish McFedries S30
Andrew McFedries S31
Ian Cowan S32
James Fleming S36
Grant Dickson S51
Brent McDonald S55
Gavin Storer S84

Class U = 6 entries
James Dickson U07
Dion Edgecombe U14
Carl Ruiterman U22
Leigh Bishop U36
Brian Rutgers U43
Rosco Gaudin U69

Crabb Racing Kiwitruck

Class J = 6 entries
Jack Brownlees J23
Kelan Keith J26
Reeve Giddy J81
Arron Crabb J95
Kadin Thomason J97
Lincoln Whiddett J321

Class M = 1 entry
Harry Hodgson M12