PLANES, TRAINS, AUTOMOBILES. If it has wheels or an engine or both, we want to know about it!

Club Information

If you'd like to list a club, simply create a listing account.

Canterbury Offroad Racing Club

The Canterbury Off-Road Club, an  incorporated society,  was formed in 1982 and now has a strong membership base, consisting of racing and social members.
Initially, the space framed off-roaders were based around a large amount of Volkswagen parts.
A donor car, and a purpose built space frame and plenty of hands on work, set you well on the way to having a competitive off-roader.
Things have moved on since then. High horsepower, affordable Japanese import motors started appearing in the cars and with the advent of clever independent suspensions, off-roaders have come to rely less on Volkswagen parts using  more aftermarket suspension parts.
With the flood of Japanese import 4wd vehicles coming into New Zealand, it was inevitable that they would make great off-road race vehicles, hence the burgeoning classes of 2 wheel drive and 4 wheel drive truck classes.  These vehicles are cheap to fit out as a race car and are a sponsor’s dream to plaster signwriting all over!
Our club is affiliated to ORANZ (Off Road Association of New Zealand) the national governing body for off-road racing and is recognized by SPARC (Sport and Recreation New Zealand).
We have built  our own purpose built 1.1km off-road track. The West Melton Off-Road Raceway, at  Weedons Ross Rd, has specially contoured jumps and bumps which add an exhilarating touch to the racing, giving the competitors “big air’ over the jumps without being hard on the vehicles.
Our club works in with the Canterbury ATV Association who relish the chance to race on our track.
Our sport is quite affordable  and non elitist, with racing vehicles costing from $1500-$2500 for some classes and up to $20,000 and in some cases much more, for state of the art vehicles.
We also have a good core of social members  who enjoy being involved in the club and the racing activities while not actually owning a vehicle.
Young drivers are catered for. Our club has implemented a youth driving policy, where drivers from 12 years old can race in selected classes, under controlled conditions and our national body (ORANZ) has now implemented two childrens classes to take kids as young as five right through to 15.
The club is kept informed as to what events are happening with our website www.dirt.org.nz, monthly newsletter posted out to members and a club night held once a month (the second Tuesday  in each month) at the Avonhead Tavern, Withells Rd. This kicks off at 7.30pm, the latest news and views in off-roading are aired there, along with the showing of off-road racing DVD and videos.
Events are scheduled  from February to November  which includes four South Island Series events held throughout the South Island. These events are heats for the national series, which culminates in a National final held every year, alternating between the North Island and the South.
Our club also hosts club days, which include short course racing at the West Melton Off-Road Raceway, hillclimbs and enduro events held on farmland and in forests.
If you know of any land we could race on, we want to know about it!
We are always looking for new  members. We welcome people who are interested in the sport, but not necessarily wanting to race. After all, it is still fun being involved without racing.

Canterbury Offroad Racing Club