Mad Mike Whiddett returns to Feilding to defend Offroad Racing Crown


For the third straight year, the Palmerston North Offroad Racing Club has been awarded the hosting rights to the New Zealand Offroad Racing Short Course Championship. The title will play out over one action-packed day on Sunday 26 April on the dirt at their club track off Kawakawa
Road, Feilding, with racing from 10am.
Last year’s event was the highlight of the 2025 offroad racing calendar, topped off with Kiwi motorsport legend Mad Mike Whiddett and his son Lincoln, both entering in their rotary-powered class 8 truck and class 1 buggy, respectively. As these two unlimited classes were on track together, it was an exciting opportunity to witness father and son battle it out in anger, and both were fully committed to winning. In their final heat race of the day, Lincoln had the lead but was slowly reeled in by his father, with Mad Mike pipping his son on the line. The crowd this year can be hopeful of a repeat, as Mad Mike is a confirmed entry to defend his 2025 crown, as is son Lincoln after the arrival and installation of a new gearbox.

The 2026 entry list is taking shape and while it is still strong with many of the top racers you’d expect to see, the current cost of fuel crises has had an impact on overall entry numbers. In 2025 a strong south-island contingent travelled up to the event, but this year it looks as though there may only be one or two, while some entries from the Auckland area have just not been able to financially make the commitment.

Local entries are also strong, including Class 3 racer Liam Earle hoping to be on top of an engine miss which has haunted him over the start of 2026
and Peter Gordon and Martin van der Wal looking to walk away with strong results in the unlimited truck Class 8. Other confirmed local racers include Stuart Earle, Paul Eayrs and William van der Wal in the UTV S Class, Feilding lad Dan Mears in the UTV U Class and Rongotea local Karlos McKay in his Class 3 buggy.

The event being hosted in Feilding, while still a national level event, is not one of the seven rounds of the National Championship. Club President Alan Saunders believes that is what makes this event unique, “you just need things to go your way on the day, and you could walk away as the national short course champion. I think that is what makes it so appealing to come and take part; a National Championship is obviously the ‘crowning jewel’ of offroad racing, but it takes consistency and financial commitment to both travel and maintain your truck, buggy or UTV. This event, it’s a little different in that you just need to turn up, have one problem-free day, and you could walk away as a champion”.

Saunders mentioned track preparation is a key focus for the team this year and it has been made that bit easier due to the recent relationship with club and event title sponsor, TRC Tractors. “The support we get from TRC Tractors means we can access the right gear to ensure the track is as good as it can be, it makes a huge difference.” Asked about how long it takes to prepare the track for a meeting like this, Saunders stated “it started well and truly before Christmas but really ramped up over the past couple of months. There are a group of very committed club members who are down there in the evenings and weekends turning the track over, maintaining drainage and keeping on top of the grass – it’s a big job.” There is also a desire
to strike the balance of having a track surface which is raceable for the whole day, but also still provides the challenges of true offroad racing. “This isn’t speedway or dirt-karts which typically want a totally smooth surface; it is offroad racing and navigating the challenge of a few gnarly holes and ruts appearing throughout the day are all part of the fun and experience.”


The TRC Tractors 2026 CT Civil New Zealand Offroad Racing Championship takes place at TRC Tractors Race Park, 125 Kawakawa Road, Feilding on Sunday 26 April 2026. Gates open at 8am with racing from 10am. Entry is $5 per person, or $10 per carload of spectators – CASH ONLY.
You are welcome to take your own food and non-alcoholic drinks, and there will be food and drink available to purchase on the day.
Want to find out more about the event? Search ‘Palmerston North Offroad Racing Club’ on Facebook!

National Championship Points After Round Two

The 2026 CT Civil ORANZ National Championship is two rounds down and basically all classes are still very much wide open! Here is a list of the current class leaders after two rounds, remembering both rounds so far have been raced in the North Island.

Class 1 - 157 Tony McCall

Class 2 - 203 Noah Hutchison

Class 3 - 377 Mike Gibson

Class 4 - 448 Brett Jones

Class 5 (including 7 & C) - 522 Brad Harvey

Class 8 - 887 Nick Leahy

Class 10 - 1082 Ed Hiestand

Class S - S59 John Butler

Class U - U32 Neil Coutts

Class J - J19 Harrison Mooney

Class M - M08 Jack Rice

You can check out all the results here!

The next round of the National Championship is the Woodhill 100 Enduro which takes place on Sunday 31 May 2026 in Woodhill Forest, north of Auckland. The good news is we don't have to wait til then for our next taste of National level action, with the NZ Title event 'New Zealand Short Course Championship' taking place in Feilding, Manawatu on Sunday 26 April 2026. 

2026 CT Civil ORANZ National Championship Round Two is on the horizon

The 2026 championship season kicked off with a bang at Colin Dale Park and the excitement continues in March with round two taking place at the high flying TECT Park, nestled between Rotorua and Tauranga on State Highway 36 on Saturday 21 March. 

Will Waikato racers make the most of home track advantage? Will those who left round one as class leaders maintain their advantage? Will racers who didn't have the best weekend at round one get some redemption? One thing is for sure - there is a heap to race for and this is an important round for competitors to cement their championship challenge!

Need to get your entry sorted? Check out the Race Schedule page, look for the round two form and get it submitted - all online, so nice and easy!


Polaris Off-Road New Zealand and ORANZ Collaboration

You may have heard the news - ORANZ and Polaris Off-Road New Zealand have teamed up and created P Class. This is an all new one-make, one-model race class utilising the RZR XP 1000 Sport with the aim of increasing grassroots participation in Offroad racing across New Zealand.

New for 2026, Polaris are offering ORANZ members a 10% discount and a 3m x 3m Polaris tent to keep you out of the elements on race day. At the national level, racers in P Class will race for national points like all other classes, but will also race for the Polaris Cup throuhout the season, with a short course and endurance trophy up for grabs! 

Check out the details on the image here which details what it is all about and if you think this might be something you want to get involved with, call in and see your local Polaris dealer - you can find one near you here. 

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.