Photos by TJW Photos & Michelle Verrenkamp
Fifth time a charm for Shaun Nicholson, as he takes his maiden win in the NZ 4×4 Trials Series alongside his fourth and fifth navigators for the season, Bryce Nicholson & Cody Fogden.
The Hawkes Bay 4WD Club hosted the National Final of the 2026 season in Crownthorpe, near Hastings. In a new site for the series, the hosts pulled out the stops to make the most of the hillside, with courses spread out and access tracks spruced up for spectators – with the proceeds from the event going to the Hawkes Bay Rescue Helicopter.
The day started out with a drizzle, a reminder of the pending Cyclone, but soon phased out to overcast conditions for has been a relatively dry competition season.
Event Results
MORNING
The day started out wet with some showers, before drying out midway through the morning to overcast conditions. The stages were very technical, catching out some of the experienced crews and opening the door for others to sneak through.
Shaun Nicholson & Bryce Nicholson would take out the morning with 137 points, with title hopefuls Chris Gifford & Sam Thomsen on 165.6 followed by Ash Tonkin & Dyon Ross on 165.7 in third. Former 2NZ Kevin Hermansen & James Hunt would be fourth in the morning despite blowing off the cobwebs and breaking in a new navi! Further down Hayden McGill & Barry Williams would pull a shock lead in C Class and sit 7th overall, with Ryan Bold & Brendan Austin as well as Alastair Bevege & Grant MacDonald putting their Homebuilt buggies into the Top 10.
Phil Cameron & Todd Charman would be one of two DNF’s on the day, with Cody Fogden & Olivia Sheaff sitting on the sidelines with a broken axle.
TOP FIVE
After a disastrous morning score putting them down in 24th overall, Angus Hamilton & Daniel Howat would blitz the afternoon with zero points + speed to win the afternoon and put them 6th overall. It’s the first time a C Class truck has led any half of the day since Shayne Towers & Tony Hadland’s effort back in 2019!
Scott Biggs & Phil Walton would be 20 points further behind in second, going on to finish 3rd overall.
Third in the afternoon would be none other than rookies Derek Ramsay & Matthew Ramsay in Earth Shredder, coming to grips with their CowperTruck over the course of the season putting in a fine performance.
Fourth in the afternoon would be yet another Wairarapa CowperTruck, with former K Class champ John Sheridan & Sean Cushing pulling one out of the hat in the truck formally known as The Hulk. Dropping the rear-steer setup in favour of a more reliable Nissan Safari rear end heading into the final would pay dividends once getting to grips with the wider width.
With Bryce Nicholson opting out of the afternoon with a minor back injury, Cody Fogden would find himself behind the fiddle brakes again for Shaun Nicholson. Backing up their morning score to claim fifth in the afternoon, the now trio would go to score their maiden win! The strong result gives Nicholson & co fifth outright for the season.
Chris Gifford & Sam Thomsen would hold it together (just) after finishing the day with an escort back to the pits behind a tractor! Claiming 2nd by one point and with it the National Title for 2026!
Scott Biggs & Phil Walton would take third place on the day, enough for third in D Class for the season.
Dave & Reece McKie would continue their consistency throughout the year to claim 4th, and ultimately their best ever season result with 2NZ!
Rocking up to blow out the cobwebs out before the Suzuki Extreme, Former 2NZ Kevin Hermansen was unphased as he and new navi James Hunt finished fifth in The Gambler.
C CLASS
It’s an all too familiar story in C Class, as rookie of the year Angus Hamilton & Daniel Howat would survive a scare to take their fifth win in C Class for this season and the C Class title to boot! With a lowly morning score thanks to their rear diff turning into a tight LSD, they would fight back to win the afternoon outright and take 6th overall on the day and for the season.
Nathan Fogden & Mike Gibbons in their final appearance in the Zook-Sport CowperTruck was ever so close to finishing on top, with one stage all that was between them and first place. The Bay of Plenty team would ultimately finish 2nd in class and for the season.
Glenn D’Ath & Danielle D’Ath would take their second podium of the season in No Chromo, finishing third for the day as they reap the benefits of switching to their two-litre turbo motor from the old 1200cc!
SUPER PRODUCTION
Paul Taylor & Danielle Taylor once again were the team to beat in F Class, being the sole entrant for the National Final! Another drama free day saw the father-daughter team finish the season on top.
BEST OF THE REST
Rounding out the rest of the Top 10…
Mitch Caldow & Jamie Elms finished 7th for their best result of the season, ultimately taking 8th overall for the year.
Chris Tomalin & Richard Verner would breathe a sigh of relief at the end of the day, taking 9th overall for the day and for the season in much smoother circumstances after fighting for their spot last season!
Wayne Buckthought & Rachel Buckthought entered the final with Central Zone honours and a place in the Top 10 up for grabs… and went home with both! A sublime performance in truck much older than their peers would give them 10th overall on the day and for the season.
BIGGS FAMILY CUP
The South Waikato 4WD Club end the season on a high thanks to the Nicholsons & C. Fogden, Gifford & Thomsen and the D’Ath’s on their podium finishes giving them the Biggs Cup win for the day. The result sees them pip EBDTC to second overall, with Counties 4 Wheelers on top once again.
The Biggs Family Cup is awarded to the club with the best score from their three highest class finishers. Mt Egmont would take fourth on the day with Wanganui rounding out the Top 5 thanks to Hermy & Scott Dickson’s appearance at the final round.
With locations set and dates to be confirmed, all we can say for now is the 2027 season kicks off in South Wairarapa this November!
