It’s called twilight, but it’s not the same Twilight that teen movie-goers get stupid about.  The Denny’s Twilight 250 is not about vampires and werewolves, but organisers say this all-new offroad endurance race will still send adrenalin levels through the roof for drivers and spectators alike.

The race will be held this Saturday (Nov 20) and will cover 250 kilometres of high speed roads and logging tracks in the Woodhill Forest northwest of Auckland.  Not only is the event longer than most such races in the sport, it is unique in being run through late afternoon and into the evening.

“This is the only chance offroad racers have to compete in dusk and darkness using high powered spotlights to see their way to the finish.  It’s going to be quite a ride,” said organiser Alan Butler.

The event is being staged by the same team that organised the Denny’s Woodhill 100 in June.

“We have gone heavily into the big fast logging roads to create our 15 km race lap.  Probably 80 per cent of the race distance will be on loose-surfaced but well-formed roads, the rest on logging tracks,” said Mr Butler.

As a result, racers at the front of the field are expected to hit speeds of 200 km/h or more in the faster sections.

The organisers have secured support from Denny’s New Zealand and Raana Horan’s Exhibition Hire Services.

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South Head’s Raana Horan has made history at the 30th annual Woodhill 100 offroad endurance race, becoming the first driver to win the event in a four wheel drive vehicle.

The punishing 175 km endurance race is rated the toughest in the sport in this country.   The event celebrates its 30th anniversary this year and is believed to be the only New Zealand motorsport event to have been run in the same location throughout its duration.  Through the past 29 years, the race had only ever been won by specialist “space framed” offroad race cars.

Horan qualified on pole and leapt into the lead with a dominant start, launching the massive Nissan Titan utility down the short straight to the “holeshot” first corner.

He was chased hard as the field entered the forest by Whakatane’s Malcolm Langley, who hung off the big Nissan’s rear bumper in his Mitsubishi EV0 VII engined Bakersfield single-seater.  Hawkes Bay driver Shayne Huxtable followed Langley in his Nissan turbo-powered car.

The only truck able to stay with Horan and the leading bunch was the rear wheel drive Nissan of Gary Baker, who was fourth overall.

As the field emerged from the first 28 km lap, Horan was in control, throwing the big truck into corners as if it were a rally car half its size.  He led Langley by 20 seconds.  Missing from the front-running bunch was Huxtable, whose Nissan engine had exploded at half distance.

Baker was up to third, chased by west Auckland driver and race organiser Donn Attwood in his Bu-Mac RV Toyota Super 1600.  Kumeu driver Rene Sciarone was fourth, driving a Chenowth Toyota as part of the two-car Pinepac team.

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