Thrills, Spills and Big Air at the 2025 New Zealand Off-Road Racing Championship Final

TAURANGA, New Zealand – The 2025 New Zealand Off-Road Racing Championship Series reached a spectacular conclusion over the weekend at the Waikato Offroad Racing Club’s home track at TECT Park, with perfect weather and a record turnout of competitors and fans setting the stage for two days of adrenaline-fuelled action.

The event opened with the Pro 1 class, where a stacked field of championship contenders roared off the line in a display of raw power and precision driving. Every competitor gunned for the first jump, sending their race cars flying in unison – a breathtaking sight that set the tone for the weekend. As one veteran competitor put it, “reputation means nothing when the green flag drops.”

Adding to the excitement, the Sky Sport camera crew was on site for the first time to film short-course off-road racing. Commentator Stephen McIvor was impressed by the spectacle.

Next up was the ProBuggy category, featuring an impressive 18-car grid. When the green flag waved, the field charged towards the jump four-wide, disappearing into a wall of dust but never lifting off the throttle. For five intense laps per heat, the action was relentless—bumpers clashing, dirt flying, and cars launching skyward to the delight of the packed embankment crowd. With such depth in the field, every heat was anyone’s race.

The Ultra 4 Turbo class followed, showcasing the extreme performance of these high-powered machines. Newcomer Noah Hutchison made a strong impression, dominating the class with multiple wins and earning the respect of seasoned competitors.

But it was the ProTruck battles that stole the show. The fierce rivalry between Richard Crabb and Gary Baker delivered everything fans could hope for—mid-air contact, massive jumps, and no shortage of door-to-door action. The crowd favourite, however, was Peter Gordon in his eye-catching blue ProLite, whose fearless approach and massive jumps drew cheers from start to finish. ProTruck racing clearly won new fans in the Bay of Plenty after this unforgettable display.

The KiwiTruck junior racers also impressed, running the full short-course track and earning raucous applause from spectators cheering on the next generation of off-road talent.

Sunday’s program opened with a Kids Enduro, a 40-minute adventure combining stadium track, gravel roads and forest trails – an unforgettable experience for the young competitors and their families.

The main event, Sunday’s Enduro final, brought the top short-course racers back to the grid in championship order. Daynom Templeman started from pole, with Cam Paton and Tony McCall alongside. Templeman led early before mechanical gremlins struck, handing the advantage to Paton, who built a commanding one-minute lead. Behind him, McCall and Hutchison battled fiercely for second – until Dyson Delahunty emerged from the dust to snatch victory in the closing laps.

After hours of punishing racing through rugged forest trails, many finishers crossed the line battered but proud, having survived one of the toughest courses on the calendar.

The 2025 season finale at TECT Park will be remembered as a showcase of New Zealand off-road racing at its very best – a weekend of passion, power, and pure spectacle.


2025 CT Civil New Zealand Offroad Racing Championship Series - Champions


KiwiTruck

1st J48 Jack Doland

2nd J17 Brett Carlyle

3rd J11 Indy Rice


KiwiModified

1st M08 Jack Rice

2nd M21 Oliver Mooney

3rd M51 Lily Williams


Junior Overall

1st M08 Jack Rice

2nd J48 Jack Doland

3rd M21 Oliver Mooney


Pro1

1st 157 Tony McCall (13 times Pro1 NZ Champion)

2nd 152 Brett Vanner

3rd 170 Sareena Paterson


ProBuggy

1st 368 Jared Nagle

2nd 313 John Instone

3rd Connor Nicklin


LiteBuggy

1st 574 Aaron Hogg-Medland


ProTruck

1st 861 Nick Hall (3 times ProTruck NZ Champion)

2nd 818 Dale Strong


BajaBug

1st 900 Arnie Jones


Ultra2

1st 1082 Ed Hiestand


Challenger

1st C70 Sareena Paterson


Ultra4Turbo

1st S03 Noah Hutchison

2nd S27 Jayden Cassidy

3rd S80 Andrew Williams


Ultra4

1st U32 Neil Coutts

2nd U72 Scott Mitchell

3rd U70 Lance Fox


Adult Overall

1st 861 Nick Hall

2nd S03 Noah Hutchison

3rd U32 Neil Coutts


Mickey Thompson New Zealand Offroad Grand Prix – Round 1 of the CT Civil New Zealand Offroad Racing Championship & Introducing the Dunlop Rally-SprintDate: Saturday, 1st February 2025Time: 10:30amLocation: Colin Dale Park, 87 Prices Road, Wiri, AucklandHosted by: Counties Manukau Offroad Racing Club

Only Days to Go – Don’t Miss the Thrill!

The countdown is on for the Mickey Thompson New Zealand Offroad Grand Prix, taking place this Saturday, 1st February at Colin Dale Park, Manukau. This is your chance to witness some of the most exciting off-road racing in New Zealand as the CT Civil New Zealand Offroad Racing Championship kicks off with a bang! Racing starts at 10:30am – so make sure you're there to see all the high-speed action!


THE HOME OF OFF ROAD RACING IN NEW ZEALAND

Off road racing is New Zealand’s most exciting, friendly and dirty motorsport, with people from all ages and backgrounds coming together to race modified vehicles through sand, bush and farmland in short course and endurance formats.

Drivers build or buy their vehicles, making extensive modifications to suspension, drive trains and powerplants. Often a family tradition, many competitions include second and third-generation racers. 

ORANZ oversees the National Series and provides support to the 10 local clubs around New Zealand. The 13 ORANZ National Series classes cater for different types of vehicles and levels of modification.

ABOUT ORANZ​​​​​​​


ORANZ was founded in 1984 as the governing body for an exciting new sport. Since then off road racing has expanded into a strong community of drivers and enthusiasts, with ORANZ guiding the professionalism and safety of the sport. Run in partnership with local off road racing clubs, the ORANZ National Off Road Racing Series attracts drivers from all over New Zealand.

Back in In the early 80s, with a passion for off road racing and as organiser of the Bug Inn VW racing events, Ian Foster was hungry to win a New Zealand title. A national title required a national body, so he invited people from clubs all over the country to the Raceway Motel in Taupō and formed ORANZ. The hotel proprietor, Mr Barry Burgess, donated the National Champion Trophy, which is still presented each season to the driver with the largest accumulated points total of the season.

PREMIER SPONSOR​​​​​​​​​​​​​

CT Civil are a sewer and stormwater contractor, specialising in desludging, dredging, stormwater & sewer rehabilitation, lightweight grout and trenchless pipe installation. 

The generous ongoing support of CT Civil is integral to the success of off road racing in New Zealand and enables ORANZ to provide professional support to our local clubs nationwide.

OUR SERIES PARTNERS
There is no sport without sponsorship! We appreciate the ongoing support of our series partners.

Enter online, and stay up to date with the latest driver information.

View the official 2025 CT Civil ORANZ National Championship race dates and the 2025 CT Civil individual New Zealand Title race dates. 

ORANZ NATIONAL SERIES RACE CLASSES​​​​​​​
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Space frame Offroad Race Car with unlimited modifications to suspension, drive train and powerplant.

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Space frame Offroad Race Car, 1640cc maximum displacement engines of any manufacturer, unlimited suspension and drivetrain modifications​​​​​​​.

Modified Production 4×4 vehicles. Limited engine modifications and unlimited suspension modifications.​​​​​​​

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Space frame Offroad Race Car, 1321cc maximum displacement engines of any manufacturer, unlimited suspension and drive train modifications.​​​​​​​

Space Frame Offroad Race Car. Standard air-cooled VW 1200cc engine, Standard VW Swing-Axle Gearbox, Standard VW 1960’s Kombi Front Suspension.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Unlimited modification 4×4 or 2wd Truck class. Any engine configuration, any Drivetrain, any suspension modifications.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Baja Bug Class, Full car body of any manufacturer on the standard manufacturers floor pan (chassis or sub-frame). unlimited engine, drivetrain and suspension modifications.

Space frame Offroad Race Car, Motorcycle engine, no engine size limits, unlimited modifications to suspension, drive train and powerplant.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Space Frame Offroad Race Car. Standard air-cooled VW 1600cc engine, Standard VW Swing-Axle Gearbox, Standard VW 1960’s Kombi Front Suspension.
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Exhibition Class





Approved Factory produced naturally aspirated UTV up to 1000cc. No engine modifications, standard transmission and clutch. Some bolt on modifications permitted.​​​​​​​

Modified UTVs from approved manufacturers up to 1500cc for naturally aspirated engines or up to 1000cc factory production turbo engines.

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Junior Kiwi Truck. Single seat mini race truck with 9hp 270cc 4 stroke. Restricted to minimum age of 6 years old to maximum of 15 years old.
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Modified Kiwi Truck. Single seat mini race truck with 200cc 4 stroke farm bike motor. Restricted to minimum age of 10 years old to maximum of 15 years old.

DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL ORANZ APP​​​​​​​

Get the latest off road race events, alerts and drivers updates direct to your phone. Download on the App Store or Google Play.