When an event like the NZ1000 has been in existence for so long it is often interesting looking back at previous events and vehicles and seeing how things have evolved. Ashley Lucas explains.
For the 2017 event it was the history behind the Range Rover of Nick Warburton in Class 2 and his eventual placing of second in Class for 2017 and – believe it or not - there is a connection to a former winner of the Monte Carlo Rally.
This particular Range Rover has been competing for over 20 years - originally in the hands of Nick’s Uncle, Bruce Warburton - and in Bruce’s hands in 1996 came first in Class and sixth overall. Bruce was also on hand as part of Nick’s crew for 2017 and was able to fill in some of the vehicle’s history.
Bruce Warburton, coming from a family with a history of motor racing, originally competed in early 1000 events in a Suzuki but for 1996 entered what was then known as the CRC1000 in a specially prepared Range Rover which had been fitted with a 4.2 litre TVR engine. Even back then the fully road-legal Range Rover carried the race number 202.
Some engine
The Warburton Range Rover was eventually parked up after the 1996 win but the engine was sold and continues to compete today. It was originally sold to Darryn Bell who ran it in his Range Rover and in 2011 finished first in Class 6 and eighth overall. Darryn subsequently sold the engine yet again and it is now fitted into the Class 6 Land Rover-based Tomcat of Glen Raymond, which finished third in class for 2017.
As for the Range Rover it was also sold off by Bruce and competed on and off for a few years before Nick Warburton purchased it. Apart from a change of colour scheme from white to red and now running a standard 3.9 Rover V8 engine, it is still much the same as 21 years ago although showing signs of age.
Monte Carlo connection
And the Monte Carlo Rally connection is Nick Warburton’s Grandfather, Guy Warburton, winning the Monte Carlo Rally in 1952 with Allan Allard. relegating a young Stirling Moss to second place.
The overall winner in 1996 was father and son team of Mike and Phil Cameron in an American Chenowth and Phil Cameron is still a stalwart of off-road racing in NZ today and was part of the main organising team for 2017 event.
Also competing in 1996 was Warren Arthur in his then new Chev-powered Ford F150 desert truck, finishing first in Class 8 and fourth overall. That same Ford was back competing again this year in the hands of current owner Mike Hughes although sliding off the track early on Saturday and getting stuck saw them placed well down this year.
The race
The 2017 NZ1000 will be remembered not so much for the racing but for the weather that impacted the course and teams throughout the weekend. An already wet course took an even more hammering rain-wise over the two days with many drivers struggling in the atrocious conditions.
This actually gave the 4WD competitors an advantage especially as the track conditions deteriorated as the 2WD vehicles couldn’t get the power down and get traction. Also, having a windscreen, which most 4WD competitors did, meant better vision and less chill factor while racing, unlike the open buggies.
Angela Lord in the Suzuki Grand Vitara only managed two laps on Saturday before rolling and crashing out for the day. She would come back Sunday, however, finishing the weekend with a third overall in Class 2.
Nicholas Warburton from Auckland in the historic Range Rover finished Saturday with a steady drive for 50th and second in class, two laps down from Scott Fredrickson who was leading Class 2 in the Mitsubishi Pajero. Sunday’s racing saw all three retaining the same class positions for the event.
Thunder Truck!
While there were 11 vehicles in Thunder Truck Class 8, just over half were actually 4WD. Tony Differ in the winch challenge V8 Nissan managed to finish sixth in class, just ahead of Jono Climo in his Nitto Tyres-backed twin-turbo Toyota. Malcom Langley managed consistent lap times over the two days for a fourth in Class.
One of the more recognisable 4WDs was the Australian father-and-son team of Roly and Tom Dixon in their V8-powered Nissan GU. They managed to finish second in Class 8 and 18th overall. Mike Preston was third (23rd overall) and Paul Preston finished fifth and 31st overall.
WoF & Reg required
Some of the more interesting racing was between the Class 6 vehicles, which requires vehicles to be NZ road registered and have a WoF.
There were seven competitors in the class from Darrin Neeley’s highly modified Nissan Terrano to Brian Howat in the Land Rover Discovery V8 but the early class leader on Saturday was Daniel Connor in his V8-powered Toyota Land Cruiser. It was mentioned that there wasn’t much Toyota left in the vehicle, only the transfer case as it was running a Chevy V8 engine and Nissan diffs.
Glen Raymond was back in the Land Rover-based Tomcat, as was seasoned NZ1000 competitor Tony White in the familiar yellow Nissan GQ ute along with Jon Cole and Alan Raffety, also driving Nissan Patrols.
Daniel Connor had a good first day staying up on the lead lap and finishing 10th overall. After completing the full 15 laps on Saturday, he drove back to Taupo to do the vehicle checks in the garage rather than in the rain and then Sunday morning drove it back and straight onto the grid ready to race again.
Slippery as
Track conditions were so slippery even the four-wheel-drives had traction issues at times and Jon Cole put the Nissan on its side on Saturday, recovered and managed to finish sixth in Class. Brian Howat was another that rolled Saturday but managed to continue on finishing fifth in Class overall.
Darrin Neeley commented about the lack of grip and suffered two punctures Saturday, both on the right front wheel so for Sunday he fitted his Simexes but managed yet another front right puncture finishing fourth in Class and 30th overall for the event.
The Tomcat of Glen Raymond had plenty of power with the TVR engine but with the Trutrac locking differential in the rear, it was behaving badly under acceleration. Together with son, Kurtis Raymond, who shared the driving, they completed Saturday finishing in 34th place overall and second in class.
Sunday wasn’t quite so good with Kurtis having a spin and later putting the Tomcat over on its side. It was quickly recovered but they lost time to a charging Tony White who managed to beat the Tomcat to second place by 5.05 minutes after 10 hours of racing.
Daniel Connor took class honours and was the best placed truck/4WD finishing seventh overall but still a lap down on the major place getters when the race was stopped.
To read every story in the December 2017 issue of NZ4WD go to Zinio.com (Nov 17) or purchase your own hard copy at the Adrenalin store.
