Dennis Andreassend takes “number one” from Powell

Shrugging off a last-minute head on crash into a pine tree, Nelson’s Dennis Andreassend has won his second national championship title in racing at the final round of the national championship.

Racing at West Melton near Christchurch on the Saturday and Sunday of Labour Weekend, Andreassend had no answer for the sheer speed of defending champion Daniel Powell in his big American-built Jimco Nissan single-seater on the first day of competition, but sealed the title with second place to Powell in Sunday’s 169 kilometre endurance race.

The pair have raced head to head all year, dominating the running in the 2009 Asset Finance New Zealand Offroad Racing National Championship.  Andreassend won the first South Island round at Dunedin on ANZAC Day to establish an early psychological advantage after early race leader Wayne Moriarty crashed out. 

Powell fought back at the second round at Christchurch, but Andreassend was not to be denied and returned to dominance at the third South Island round, his “home” event at Nelson.

Going into this weekend’s final round Andreassend carried a narrow 12 point lead over second placed Troy Tufnell with Ryan Densem third and Powell 28 points adrift in fourth place.

He was facing a re-energised Powell, who was confident of a top showing in the “short course” or stadium-style heats on the first day of competition.

Around the challenging 1.1 km Radio Hauraki raceway, Powell dictated the pace, in one heat overtaking Andreassend in mid-air.

After Saturday’s hectic short course “stadium” races, Powell had edged closer, just 18 points separating the two.  The whole championship and the battle for the title would be resolved at the final race of the season.

First out into the forest as the race started was defending champion Powell, making the most of his car’s turbocharged Nissan engine.  Andreassend was close behind, along with Wayne Moriarty and South Head ThunderTruck driver Raana Horan.  Whakatane’s Clive Thornton was fifth.

After one lap, though, Powell had Horan’s massive new Nissan Titan race truck firmly on his back bumper, Andreassend 18 seconds back and Moriarty hanging on to Andreassend in fourth place.

Horan stayed put for several laps before falling back, allowing Andreassend and Moriarty to push through and chase the flying Powell.  His car, meanwhile, had developed a misfire, affecting its ability to pull away from his pursuers in the narrow sections of the track, though the faster straights saw the big Jimco Nissan topping an indicated 240 km/h.

“That was faster than Taupo, I had the car up on the rev limiter in fifth gear for minutes at a time.  What a buzz!”

Andreassend found himself able to attack in the narrower forest tracks and going into slower corners, but after a close call he decided he was best to hold station and focus on his championship objective.

“I dived up the inside couple of times, but Daniel was racing hard and shut the door; in the end I realised I was best to focus on the title.  By staying second behind Daniel I was sure of the points that would give me the championship win”

Wayne Moriarty was a comfortable third when a minor indiscretion smashed his car’s Renault transmission and left him without drive.  The Christchurch-based driver had won all his heats on the Saturday, and third in the enduro would have brought him close to a class win for the weekend and possibly the series.

Dennis Andreassend’s late race indiscretion came when he realised third-placed Wayne Moriarty was out with transmission failure.

“I was watching the gap to Wayne because I needed to be sure of second and keep the points tally strong.  When I saw his car stopped on the following lap I think I relaxed a bit and that’s always when you make stupid mistakes.  I went straight on into a big pine tree, and that could have been the end of it.”

The Cougar’s front suspension was bent out of line and its power steering was smashed, but Andreassend was able to reverse out and get the car going, and it carried a pine branch in its front bumper for the final two laps.

Raana Horan’s charge ended when rocks smashed his big black truck’s brake lines, putting him off the track deep in the forest and leaving him unable to rejoin.

Third overall after Moriarty dropped out was Whakatane racer Clive Thornton in his Holden V6 powered Southern Cross two-seater race car.  Though he raced in the same class as Powell and Andreassend, Thornton had not carried enough points into the weekend to be able to challenge the pair in today’s endurance race, which suited his car better than the shorter heats on Saturday.

Powell said the season-long championship battle was the best racing he has enjoyed yet.  He had done everything he could to hold onto the title, winning short course heats on Saturday and going out to lead and win the enduro, but with Andreassend right behind he could only hope the Nelson driver’s car would have problems.

“We had an average start to the season and a very average middle, and that eventually made the difference here.  Dennis was driving really well out there today.  He deserves the title win.”

Powell said the rough but fast course of the endurance race suited his American-built car well.  The Jimco is designed to tackle the biggest US endurance races, and has been adapted to run in New Zealand by Andrew Thomason.

“Andrew took the Jimco and built me the best offroad race car in New Zealand. The car is very well developed, well suited to New Zealand conditions and really hard to beat in short course stuff, and  I am rapt with how it went today.”

Andreassend said his “secret weapon” was a set of race-designed tyres from the US.

“We got a set of BF Goodrich Baja T/A tyres from the States through the local agent and they have really transformed the car for rough fast races like today’s.  These things are bulletproof!”

Third in the championship was Auckland racer Troy Tufnell, driving a small but agile Challenger VW single seater.  He also won the V-Dub Shoppe Challenger class for the series ahead of seasoned competitor Geoff Matich.  Tunfell’s rival and close mate Nick Leahy was third for the weekend and the series, completing a North Island clean sweep of the class.

Aucklander Anthony Hewitt had already won the North Island production class title before arriving at Christchurch in his massive red Dodge Ram four wheel drive.  He won three of his four heats on the Saturday and won the Camco Offroad production class for the series with a class win in the enduro, drawing comfortably clear of South islanders Tod Johnson and Carl Gardiner.

South Islander Nigel Sutherland won Pine Harbour Painters class three for cars with engines up to 1.6-litres, finishing the series just seven points ahead of Wayne Moriarty.  Whakatane racer Malcolm Langley was third after a disastrous weekend during which he barrel-rolled the Bakersfield Racing Exide Toyota, was dragged into a multi-car pile-up in a subsequent race and then smashed his transmission and did not finish the enduro.

Christchurch driver Simon Smith successfully defended his Camco Offroad class four title after a heated battle with Wellington’s Glenn Turvey, who rolled twice but led the class after Saturday’s heats only to fail to finish the Sunday enduro.  Third-placed George Kaczorowski of Palmerston North also rolled his Subaru utility in the first day’s racing.

In Southern Lakes Transmissions class five for cars with engines up to 1.3-litre, points leader Ryan Densem fought off Hawkes Bay racer Dean Graham and Nelson’ s Haydn Andreassend (son of Dennis Andreassend) through Saturday’s short course, but broke a stub axle on Sunday leaving Graham and Andreassend junior to fight for the class win.  Graham put in a faultless drive in the enduro to pull clear and win.

Christchurch driver Neil Falkingham won Camco Offroad class six for road-registered four wheel drives in his four-door, four seat Range Rover V8  He carried up to three passengers in each heat on the Saturday.

Blenheim’s Mark French had arrived at the final with a handy lead in the crowd-pleasing Camco Offroad class eight for V8 trucks.  Driving a British-built rally-style V8 short wheelbase “Landie”, French had taken a consistent run through the regional rounds, his closest competition Donald Preston of Otago in a supercharged V8 Land Cruiser.

When the sport’s fastest trucks came out for the final, however, they threatened to derail the Preston-French title fight.  South Head’s Raana Horan travelled the farthest of any competitor to race at the national final, eager to get more race time in his new Nissan Titan race truck.  The additional motivation was a chance to test his speed against the Toyota Tundra of former national champion Andrew Thomason.

The two big trucks dominated the heats, sharing wins and second placings between them; French broke his steering in one heat and the title fight became a three-way battle when Andrew Thomason was dragged into a multi-car crash in the final all-in heat.  Horan’s class win in that heat brought him into contention with Preston and French.

Only his loss of brakes on the Sunday – which forced him off the track at 150 km/h – halted the charge of the big black Nissan.

That enabled Preston to come through and win the class for the weekend and the series, despite damaging wheels and having to change a flat tyre in the enduro.

The 2010 championship’s dates will be set at the sport’s annual general meeting next month; already there is news of new race cars for top competitors including Alan Butler, who will debut an American-built, V8 powered class one car; GT Radials stalwart Bryan Chang who will bring out an all-new race truck currently being built to an American design specification, and Manukau’s Tony McCall, a multiple national champion who is also planning to return in an all-new V8-engined single-seater. 

Several competitors who sat out the national championship this year have trucks for sale, including Otakiri’s Gary Baker and his ThunderTruck rival and team-mate, Asset Finance founder Clive George.