Photography by TJW Photos & Michelle Verrenkamp
Scott Biggs & Phil Walton continue their reign on the sand, winning once again in Rotoma and taking out the 50th National 4×4 Trials Final!
The final round of the 51st season of the Lucas Oil NZ 4×4 Trials Series was down to the wire, with three teams all within one point of the top spot. Jarred Biggs & Fleche Crawford were the favourites leading the way, having won the last two rounds back-to-back in Hot Wheels. Mitch Caldow & Jamie Elms were tied on points (with only one win) in Mad Wolf. Whilst Ash Tonkin & Dyon Ross who narrowly missed out on a podium placing sat one point behind in Redback. Also in title contention was Chris Gifford & Sam Thomsen in The Punisher, needing a win if they wished to nab the top spot for the season.
Defending champs Scott Biggs & Phil Walton were out of the running to defend their title, however 3NZ was on the cards needing to win and the Tonkin & Ross to finish no higher than 11th for them to take the last spot.
The Counties 4 Wheelers hosted the event in the Whakatane Region, renowned for its sandy conditions that require a different style of driving to avoid digging yourself stuck before the blues.
MORNING
At midday Round 3 winners Dave & Reece McKie lead the way by just under 10 points from Scott Biggs & Phil Walton. The latter had scored an extra 10 points over the graded stages, taking back 3 seconds from both morning speed sections.
Shaun Nicholson & Mike Ferguson were a surprise third 30 points back, having recently upgraded to the ex-Aaron Guest & Garry Preston Nitro Customs buggy just a few nights before the rally! Learning on the fly in the new-to-them truck.
Jarred Biggs & Fleche Crawford lead the title chase in fourth, with another surprise result in the form of Matt Dodge & Sam Lee popping up in fifth place in the CAT Truck! The Hawkes Bay team having not finished higher than 16th during the season.
Mitch Caldow & Jamie Elms were 6th holding onto the 2NZ placing. Wayne Weatherly & Tayla Weatherly were 7th, followed by Shayne Towers & Tony Hadland in their C Class buggy, with Wayne Buckthought & Paul Green claimed 9th ahead of 3NZ Craig Potter & Mike Hill.
The only DNF of the morning went to Daniel Howat & Cole Stockler in their G Class Suzuki SJ410, the Wellington boys suffering a rollover putting them out just before lunch.
AFTERNOON
Phil Cameron & Todd Charman would be the winners of the afternoon with a cool 175 points, not bad for a driver in his 70’s still showing the young guns how to get it done! Jarred Biggs & Fleche Crawford would be 2nd just 16 points behind. Scott Biggs & Phil Walton would claim third ahead of Dave & Reece McKie.
It was an exciting coincidence that the McKie’s would be grouped with Biggs & Walton for the afternoon stages, with the pressure on with both Counties teams fighting for the win.
That was until the McKie’s put the power down half-way through a stage in the afternoon, with their rear driveshaft immediately letting go costing them 20 points at the very least. Nevertheless, they were fortunate to borrow a spare from Biggs & Walton to carry on.
Totalling both scores, S. Biggs & Walton would take the win by 15 points ahead of Dave & Reece McKie, with Jarred Biggs & Fleche Crawford claiming third place and securing 1NZ for the season!
C CLASS
Shayne Towers & Tony Hadland would take the win at home in C Class, backing up last seasons result. Continuing their strong form, they finished 7th overall on the day, as well as 100 points clear of the rest of C Class! Their season long dominance at the sharp end of class sees Towers & Hadland finally take their maiden C Class Title.
Nathan Fogden & Mike Gibbons would finish 2nd in class and 15th overall. The result sees them finish 2nd in C Class for the season, an impressive result considering they were on the back foot for the start of the season with an engine rebuild putting them out of Round 1.
Third in D Class, sorry, C Class was Chris Tomalin & Richard Verner in Ruby…
The Waikato team have been gunning for a Top 10 placing for the season in The Ninja, sitting 9th overall heading into the round despite a DNF at the previous due to gearbox issues. With their “drop-round” now used, the team had to finish the final round to secure an overall placing – The age old saying, “To finish first, first you must finish” eh? Sounds simple, till the truck doesn’t move…
The morning of the day saw some concerned looks, as the pesky gearbox issue returned not more than an hour before kick-off. With a Top 10 on the line, Tomalin & Verner were fortunate with the Templeton Family generously offering to let them borrow Ruby for the day, after Rebekah felt ill in the morning. A quick number swap and check-over by the scrutineers saw Tomalin behind the wheel of Ruby once again at the Eastern Bay.
An eventful morning finding the rev limiter and a couple rollie-pollies ensued, with Tomalin & Verner sitting 3rd in class at midday and backing it up to finish 3rd in class and 18th Overall at the end of the day.
The end result saw them tied on points for 10th overall for the season, however on countback and thanks to their 4th place at Thames sees Tomalin & Verner nab the last spot in the Top 10!The rollercoaster of a day didn’t stop there, but more on that later.
SUPER PRODUCTION
You get the picture by now, Paul Taylor & Danielle Taylor were the only entrant in F Class with their Toyota Landcruiser. The father-daughter once again finishing the day without too many mishaps in what has been a very consistent season for the Eastern Bay team. The end of year result sees Paul Taylor become a “back-to-back” F Class champ securing his 3rd title, some 5 years since he was the last champion of F Class in 2020.
BIGGS FAMILY CUP
In the Biggs Family Cup which is awarded to the club with the best score from their three highest class finishers, the Counties 4 Wheelers had a near perfect score to nab the top spot with 5/6 wins this season! The Eastern Bay Twin Diff Club were once again on the podium with a strong performance, whilst the South Waikato 4WD Club secured another podium placing.
As mentioned at the last round, the Counties 4 Wheelers had secured the Biggs Family Cup within the first five rounds, to take their third title.
BEST OF THE REST – TOP 10
Behind the Top 3 in D Class and the 402c Racing team in 7th was…
Wayne Weatherly & Tayla Weatherly finished 4th in D Class & 4th Overall, grabbing their best ever result!
Wayne Buckthought & Paul Green have a knack for 5th places, equalling their best result with their third Top-5 finish in Hell Boy.
Mitch Caldow & Jamie Elms would claim 6th place and with it enough for 2NZ!
Wowee – Who saw this one coming? Matt Dodge & Same Lee would ultimately finish 8th overall in their best ever result since joining the sport. Their maiden Top 10 is also the first for the ex-Graeme Kingston ‘CAT Truck’ CowperTruck in 10 years, when Jetboat & Tony Hadland finished 7th at the Deadwood Safari.
Ash Tonkin & Dyon Ross finished 9th on the day, falling short of the title but still claiming their best ever result of 3NZ for the season! Their 9th place was just enough to prevent Scott Biggs & Phil Walton from nabbing the last podium spot.
Shaun Nicholson & Mike Ferguson would back up their Top 10 in Barry with another in Steve the Nitro, getting caught out with the rear locker in their afternoon moving them down a few places to finish 10th.
Zone & National Standings to come soon, for now here’s a throwback to one of the OG NZ 4×4 Trials YouTube channels from the early 2010’s, KaupoiNZ making a return with a clip from the days action:
