Alpine Offroad Racing Opens The Championship Year At Twizel

Media release, 27 October 2013

Alpine Offroad Racing Opens The Championship Year At Twizel

• Racers ready for an action and incident-packed weekend of motorsport
• No holds barred as shortened championship begins

Every finish, every point counts when the fastest offroad race teams in New Zealand grid up this weekend in Twizel to open the 2013 championship year.

The South Island becomes the focus of New Zealand offroad racing at Easter, with the opening round of the 2013 championship drawing leading teams from both ends of the island to a spectacular one-day short course event at Twizel on Saturday that is followed by a stand-alone 250 km endurance race at the same venue the following day.

The weekend is the only alpine offroad race event held in the southern hemisphere and attracts strong fields of racers including a likely entry from defending national champion Hamish Lawlor in his tiny Hayabusa-engined Odyssey, Christchurch drivers Wayne Moriarty (Euroblast Cougar Toyota) and Bryan Chang (GT Radial Ford Falcon Pro-Lite) and defending class 4 champion Darrin Thomason of Nelson in his 4.0-litre Nissan Navara.

With the national championship shortened this year to enable teams to contest the sport’s flagship event, the Taupo 1000, there are only two chances for championship teams to score points before the national final at Labour Weekend.

Short course racing puts all cars on track for three in-class heats of race action followed by an all-in race that offers points within each driver’s class.

Scrutineering for the event will be held on Friday at the Twizel Hire yard, 25 Hooker Crescent; championship racing starts at 11.00 am the next day on a farm course west of the town opposite the Ohau canal. The event will be signposted from Max Smith Drive. Spectator admission is $10 a car, there will be food and coffee available both days.

2012 Mickey Thompson New Zealand Offroad Racing Championship class winners (South Island drivers in italics):
Class 1 national champion Malcolm Langley

Class 2 national champion Mike Hay

Class 3 national champion Wayne Moriarty

Class 4 national champion Darrin Thomason

Class 5 national champion Alistair Manning

Class 6 national champion Roger McKay

Class 7 national champion Taine Carrington

Class 8 national champion Martin van der Wal

Class 9 national champion Mike Konings

Class 10 national champion Hamish Lawlor

Challenger VW national champion Ben Howard

Kiwitrucks:

M class national champion Ollie McCall

J class national champion Fergus Crabb

ENDS

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