Veteran off-road racer (and NZ4WD columnist) Bryan Chang and son Owen made history with wins at this year’s ORANZ short course title meeting.
Christchurch father-son pairing Bryan and Owen Chang dominated the unlimited classes and finished 1-2 overall at the 2019 New Zealand Offroad Racing National Short Course Championship at West Melton near Christchurch on Saturday August 17.
It is the first time a father-son pairing has finished 1-2 outright and won their respective classes in a championship event in this country.
The event, held in miserable weather on at Canterbury Offroad Racing Club’s CanAm raceway at West Melton, attracted more than 30 entries, with five-strong grids in the unlimited race car and unlimited trucks/4WDs.
Owen Chang is a former national champion and was making his short course championship debut in the turbocharged Jimco V6 racer raced in recent years by Daniel Powell.
Mark Brown brought his lighter four-cylinder car out for its first run in the class and led the opening laps of his first heat, but found conditions too slippery and went off. His challenge faded early.
Across the rest of the class one heats the battle was between Chang and the big V8 Aceco of another Christchurch racer, Jacob Brownlees. The latter’s big two-seater used its massive torque and power to match the slightly lighter V6 engined Jimco of Chang off the start line and on the longer straights but Chang had the advantage out of the tighter corners, turning on a masterful display for the crowd.
In the 4WD Bits class 8 unlimited trucks a field of five was whittled down to two after the first heat, allowing Owen Chang’s dad and multiple class 8 champion Bryan Chang to focus on keeping his four-cylinder turbo Chev ute ahead of the V8 ProLite of North Islander Craig Carlyle. Chang senior had opted for aggressive Komodo ‘extreme’ offroad tyres to cut through the ankle-deep mud of the early heats.
Chang’s truck is well set up for the West Melton track, but in one later heat Carlyle was able to get past the Christchurch racer. The two remained locked in battle, shedding body panels from their trucks in the process, but in a similar manner to the class one battle Chang Sr’s Chev had a visible advantage in grip off the start line and out of corners.
At the end of the heats the outright title was decided over short one lap sprints, one car at a time. Owen Chang emerged the winner, Bryan second overall. Leigh Bishop was third in his Yamaha UTV, also winning the JG Civil U class for stock UTVs in the process.
Bryan Chang said the muddy conditions had caused worries for a few competitors, but the Giti Tires Chev never faltered.
“We’re constantly working on the truck’s handling, grip and flight characteristics and it performed superbly in the absolute worst conditions. Couple that with Owen’s class win and the title itself and it’s been a great family day out in the rain!”
Class by class
The unlimited race car class attracted five entries, but attrition quickly focussed that to a battle between Owen Chang and Jacob Brownlees. The win of course went to Owen Chang, with Brownlees a good second and Mark Brown third on debut in a new US-built car.
Grant Adamson was the only class three entry. He broke a front torsion bar but still managed to win class three for cars with engines up to 1.6 litres.
In class five, Tyler Castle’s immaculate single seater struck problems, letting Tim Hanifin through for the win.
Bryan Chang won 4WD Bits class eight, pursued all day by Craig Carlyle of Maraetai. Campbell Witheford bent a valve in his new four-cylinder ProLite but managed third place. The grids started at five with Blair Prebble and Bruce McKenzie joining the fray in the opening heat but dropping out as the day progressed.
Twizel racer Barry Phillips got his Baja VW back together after destroying the car’s clutch at the Mainland Challenge and made sure of the class nine title.
The Challenger VW title went to Brooke Storer ahead of her sister Jorja with Sam Jury third. The Storer sisters put in a strong run, revelling in the cold and wet conditions.
In the UTV classes Leigh Bishop (father of Kiwitruck winner Matthew) won JG Civil class U for standard (safety modified) race cars, while Kurow’s Slim Slee won the JG Civil UTV class S for modified cars.
Matthew Bishop won Kiwitruck class M ahead of Harry Hodgson and Jack Brownlees.
2019 NZ Short Course Champs Results.
Overall
1st Owen Chang
2nd Bryan Chang
3rd Leigh Bishop
Class 1
1st Owen Chang
2nd Jacob Brownlees
3rd Mark Brown
Class 3
1st Grant Adamson
Class 5
1st Tim Hanifin
2nd Tyler Castle
4WD Bits Class 8
1st Bryan Chang
2nd Craig Carlyle
3rd Campbell Witheford
Class 9
Barry Phillips
Class C
1st Brooke Storer
2nd Jorja Storer
3rd Sam Jury
JG Civil UTVs Class U
1st Leigh Bishop
2nd Scott Munro
3rd Charlotte van der Meys
JG Civil UTVs Class S
1st Slim Slee
2nd Brent McDonald
3rd Gavin Storer
Kiwitrucks Class M
1st Matthew Bishop
2nd Harry Hodgson
3rd Jack Brownlees
