Event preview: Countdown to start of toughest offroad race • 125 confirmed for 2013 ENZED Taupo 1000 • Three international crews go up against fastest locals • Race covered for NZ and Australian TV It’s a record – the 2013 ENZED Taupo 1000 international offroad race will be the biggest in the 21 year history of the event, with 125 entries confirmed. Organisers say another 10-15 late entries are expected to add to the biggest-ever entry list for the longest, toughest, fastest offroad race in the southern hemisphere. Taupo 1000 spokesperson Tony Saelman says the race has been a ‘massive’ challenge to organise, with an all-new course to plot, safety planning to complete and a complete pit ‘village’ covering more than one square kilometre of forest-edge farmland to map out. “We have the best quality entry ever, an all-new course that will challenge drivers with terrain that runs from narrow forest tracks to logging highways, and the pit village is now almost complete. It has been an epic build-up to an epic race, and I can’t wait for race day,” he said. The Taupo 1000 runs every two years, and tests drivers and pit teams with a punishing task: completing the distance of Australia’s legendary Bathurst 1000 without ever once driving on tarmac. “This race is the equivalent of the Bathurst 1000, or three Rally New Zealand, all wrapped into two days of offroad competition. It’s the toughest test for driver and vehicle, and simply getting to the finish on the second day is a major achievement,” Mr Saelman said. Picking a likely winner, he says “is just too hard right now”. The top classes are usually the ones that set the race pace, he says, and with 24 entries in the unlimited race car class the pace is likely to be torrid. In that class there are five former champions aiming to add to their Taupo trophy tally: Alan Butler (Auckland), Clim Lammers (Hikurangi), Tony McCall (Auckland), Melvin Rouse (Whangarei) and Clive Thornton (Whakatane). Lotto millionaire Trevor Cooper is also entered in a brand-new Jimco Chev. A further 20 entries in class three for cars with engines up to 1.6 litres will be at or close to the pace of the big unlimited-class cars. That class includes two-times Woodhill 100 winner James Buchanan, who ran in the top five in the 2011 Taupo race in his Cougar Suzuki Evo. Several of the 14-strong unlimited truck class have the potential to run in the top five each day and among them Raana Horan, fresh from a year in the Australian Offroad Racing Championship, is a prime contender for the title. Horan drives a 6.0-litre four wheel drive Nissan Titan and was third overall in the 2011 Taupo race. Nick Leahy and Nick Hall are strong contenders for the class win as well, in the ELF Oils Toyota Chev, along with father and son team Martin and William van der Wal, each driving V8 powered unlimited-class trucks. “Then we do have the new UTV class on board for the second race running, and some of those guys have shown the potential of this new class to win endurance racers. If they can minimise the effect of their limited range then Tauranga’s Ben Thomasen, Mike Small of Paeroa or Reece Trotter from Christchurch could be well placed to take the win.” Also racing in the UTV class is “Rocket” Ron Kirkman, at 77 years of age likely to be the oldest racer at the event, but by no means the slowest: he won the UTV class at the 2011 Taupo race. The weekend also sees three races for the sport’s youth category, Kiwitrucks. There are at least six of these tiny trucks lined up to contest their own Taupo endurance challenge. The event has been plotted over a new course based around a 50 km lap on new roads never used for the race in its 20 year history, with a new pit and prologue area on rolling farmland just 12 kilometres from Taupo. “We always try to run to a 50 km lap, it’s part of the challenge of the event. The race distance is completed over two days for safety, and to ensure people get a good run at the whole event. We are very excited to see the response this year from racers,” said Mr Saelman. With race teams planning their Taupo 1000 assault up to two years before the event, the race always draws record numbers of media and is covered for television in New Zealand and Australia. The Taupo 1000’s official coverage will screen in New Zealand on TV3. In Australia, the race will be shown on Simon Christie’s popular 4WD TV programme. Christie and his crew have covered the Taupo 1000 since 2007. Each year the online profile of the race grows, with its Facebook page attracting tens of thousands of views per day and a race-weekend daily ‘reach’ approaching 400,000. Racers post on-board and other footage on Youtube and link the coverage back to their own team’s social media channels and to the event page. No less than four helicopters will be active in the skies over the race, moving media and race supporters around the forest, and spectator shuttle buses will take race-goers to vantage points around the 50.2 km lap. “Every time this race happens it takes huge steps beyond what has gone before. One of the great things this year is the new track. We have been able to bring the race much closer to Taupo, and the new start-finish and pit area is on wide, open rolling farmland which means spectators get to see plenty of race action from the one location,” said Mr Saelman. The 2013 ENZED Taupo 1000 begins with practice and qualifying on Friday September 13; qualifying starts at noon and is wrapped up at 4.30 pm by a Bathurst-style top ten shootout sponsored by performance component company FPP. Race days are September 14 and 15, with racing to start at 8 am sharp each day. A whole-weekend spectator pass is $20; children under 15 are free. Event information is available online at the race website taupo1000.co.nz and on its Facebook page, https://facebook/EnzedTaupo1000 About the Taupo 1000 Longest, toughest, fastest: the Taupo 1000 has been the flagship event in New Zealand offroad racing since 1992. It has always run to a total distance of 1000 km, and throughout its 21 year history has consistently attracted international entries. Initially modelled after the Baja 1000 offroad race in Mexico, the Taupo 1000 has a higher average speed than that northern hemisphere classic. It is run every two years in recognition of the punishing challenge racers face in trying to win this ‘race among races’ and the preparation required in order to complete 1000 km of racing in two days. Every year, the Taupo 1000 takes a step forward in event management, technology and quite simply the ‘wow’ factor of bringing together the top offroad race teams from New Zealand and overseas for a two-day high speed thrash through the logging roads and tracks of the biggest production pine forest in the southern hemisphere. This year the race takes place on an all-new track just 12 km from downtown Taupo. As always, the pit lane for the race will create a temporary village with its own eateries, hot drink vendors, results facility and public address system. For the first time, the race will also have its own FM radio station. The start/finish area is on wide open rolling farmland where the racers will be visible for several kilometres before they power off into Kaingaroa Forest. taupo1000.co.nz About event sponsor ENZED ENZED began life in New Zealand in the mid 1970’s with the idea of providing a comprehensive hose and fitting service system across all industry sectors. The company pioneered the concept of mobile service vans attending to the needs of clients on site and thus minimising machine downtime. At the time, the hydraulic hose and connector replacement industry operated in a very traditional manner. Machinery and equipment came to a stop with hose assembly failure, which required removal and identification of the damaged part, getting access to the part and then reassembly. It was all very time consuming, expensive and inconvenient. The ENZED solution was to develop comprehensively equipped service centres and then to take service to its customers using mobile hose shops that can make up virtually any replacement hose assembly quickly, reliably and cost effectively on site. ENZED’s innovative business model reshaped the industry as a whole and has saved customers millions of dollars in downtime. In the process the company has established a whole new level of quality service Today, ENZED HOSE DOCTOR®s are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and the company’s service is second to none. Service, quality and response to the needs of customers has seen the business grow across Australia and New Zealand. The company’s emphasis on quality and service has earned it accreditation to ISO 9001:2008 which is annually audited by Det Norske Veritas (DNV), an external auditing body that ensures compliance with all ISO Standards. enzed.co.nz
Posted on: Sun, 08 Sep 2013 11:14:09 +0000
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