Motorsport: Butler serves up his first Woodhill win

Racing under the trees was "crazy fast", says Alan Butler.

Auckland racer Alan Butler fought off strong challenges from a handful of rivals to win the 29th Woodhill 100, the toughest one-day endurance race in New Zealand motorsport.

It was Butler's first win in the event and the fastest Woodhill 100 in many years. Heavy recent rain meant that the traditionally deep and punishing sand tracks were more stable than in past years and allowed racers to reach higher speeds.

Driving his Super 1600 class Cougar Evo, Butler qualified second alongside defending Woodhill champion Clive Thornton after the 32-strong field sorted itself out in the first lap. Thornton looked well placed to defend his 2008 title. As the field swept down the hill into the left-right corners that led off the hard-based roads at the start-finish and pit area and into the forest, Thornton held out the fast-starting Butler.

Charging from the second row was Beachlands driver Neville Smith, who locked front wheels with Butler and smashed into a pine tree, blocking the road and allowing the first few cars to sprint off into the forest.

Thornton built a lead over a chasing bunch including Butler, Melvin Rouse, Hilux driver Lyndsay Dowler, Malcolm Langley and Kumeu drivers Rick and Rene Sciarone.

Butler said though his 1.6-litre car could stay with Thornton's massive V6 Southern Cross unit, he was losing time on the faster straights. After a lap, Thornton's lead was edging out beyond 30 seconds.

"It was crazy fast under the trees, and I was able to stick with Clive, but on the big straights of the logging roads my car topped out at 170km/h or so and he was just pulling away."

But disaster struck Thornton - among others. He slid off the road at a tight corner, smashing sideways into a pine tree and losing time.

The same corner would claim many others. "The corner was very deceptive," said Butler. "I went in too hot and the car slid off, but I was able to get back on the road. It looked like a parking lot by the end of the day."

Butler then extended his lead to more than four minutes over the remaining laps of the race. Rene Sciarone, making a return to the race after a four-year break, moved up as high as second before going out with mechanical failure.

The leading truck was Lyndsay Dowler, although a broken front driveshaft rendered the truck two-wheel drive. "For a truck, in the sand and on the big fast logging roads, there is no comparison. Four-wheel drive is the only way to stay on the buggy pace," said Dowler.

Once Butler started to overtake lapped traffic he was not challenged again. Malcolm Langley came through in his Bakersfield Toyota Super 1600 car for second, while Nick Leahy put in a race-long charge to finish third overall in his Challenger VW.

Butler's maiden win at Woodhill, coupled with his victory at the Great Race at the start of the year, sets him up as a contender for an enduro triple-crown in 2009 with the Taupo 1000 in September the final enduro test.