McCall out but Trev's on the way - NZ Enduro Champs

Two days of hard-out endurance racing, 500 kilometres of action for those who can stay the distance, a major ORANZ title up for grabs in a sudden-death weekend of competition.

The 2012 New Zealand Endurance Championship will be fought out July 21 and 22 on a spectacular course plotted through the Hancock forest block at Dovedale near Nelson.

Event organiser Darrin Thomason is entering the event in his Nissan Navara sport truck and says the event has already attracted some of the fastest teams in the sport, all hoping to get their names on one of the most prestigious trophies in New Zealand offroad racing.  Likely entries for the event from the South Island include Daniel Powell, John van Dyk, Neville Taylor, and Bryan Chang.  Meanwhile in the north the event is a short ferry ride from Justin Leonard, Alistair Manning and Glenn Turvey in Wellington along with the resurgent Palmerston North club.

Auckland racer Alan Butler has confirmed he will enter the event in his Millennium single-seater race car.
Darrin Thomason is issuing a special challenge to North Island racers.

"With such a long break between the Woodhill endurance race in June and the national final, we reckon the northern racers are going to get a bit stale - after all, racing's all about time in the chair, and you need competition to keep your skills sharp.  So there's a challenge out for the title, and we think it's going to be a chance for the North Island to go head to head with the best of the South Islanders over two days.  I couldn’t possibly say who I reckon will take this out but the northern guys will have to bring their best game to stay in the hunt."

With Aucklander Darryn Bell already racing the southern rounds of the national championship, and with many of the top teams well into their preparation for the national final, there's good incentive for the northern teams to make the trip to Nelson.

One Aucklander who will not be racing  is the current endurance champion.  

Auckland racer Tony McCall won’t be at Nelson to defend his New Zealand Offroad Endurance Racing Championship title this weekend.  Transmission troubles with his new BSL Terra Chev race car have sidelined the lanky racer until at least August, and the enduro title will be run and won long before the car’s Mendeola race gearbox is repaired.

There will be plenty of racer interest though: the event is a short ferry ride from Justin Leonard, Alistair Manning and Glenn Turvey in Wellington along with the resurgent Palmerston North club.  There are a dozen or more racers further up the island who are looking to enter, and the event has attracted an entry from an Auckland-based driver who is bringing not one but two race vehicles from the USA: a class one Jimco and a class eight Pro2 Ford truck.  Lotto winner Trevor Cooper will be making his New Zealand offroad racing debut at the event in the latest addition to his stable of offroad race machinery: the most advanced Cougar single-seater ever built.

He will go up against Christchurch racer Daniel Powell in a Jimco Nissan turbo and Auckland’s Alan Butler in a Millennium with Mitsubishi Evo power. 

"We have a fast and challenging track, and our format enables racers who may have hit problems on the Saturday to make repairs and come out again on the Sunday, so people will have a fantastic weekend of racing in some very special country," Darrin Thomason says.

The opening day's competition starts with qualifying sprints from 8.30 am.

"We're doing final safety checks at the venue as people front up for their sprints as well, so there will be plenty going on from 8.30 onward."

Thomason says racing in the first day's enduro will start at 11.00 am.  The finish time will depend on the speed of the leaders "it's got some very quick sections, so the top guys could hammer out 250 km pretty quickly," he says.

An overnight break gives racers a chance to fix any problems they may have struck on the first day before assembling at Dovedale for the second leg of the event. The grid for the second day will be based on the finish order from day one.

Thomason says the event dovetails well with this year's race calendar and gives teams a long enduro race at which to test their vehicles and skills during the 'off-year' when the iconic Taupo 1000 does not run.

"There is only one race in New Zealand tougher than this, and that event is not happening until 2013. This is the longest distance you can race in the sport apart from the Taupo 1000; both these races are two-day affairs.  They offer huge value for money as race distances for the entry cost - the only trick is making sure you can race all the way to the chequered flag each day."

Weather in Nelson for the race weekend is expected to be fine but cold with a chance of snow.

"There's a decent chance we will get some white stuff at this race, so we recommend people bring warm clothes, and we know the novelty of a chance to race in the snow will appeal to the teams."

Weather in Nelson this weekend is expected to be cold but sunny for both days of racing, and spectator admission to the forest course is free.