Northern Rally Sprint Series Home of the best rally sprint series in the country
Two rounds run in a very different direction has proven a good start for the 23′ series.
SACC’s round in Maramarua Forest on Sunday April 16th brought in another quality field to join in the round 2 action. 41 starters lined Symes Road, a long walk up to documentation for those towards the end of the pits line. The stage, being run in a different direction to the usual offering, was welcomed by drivers, fresh rallysprint stage notes at the ready.
The roads were in good nick & there was a blustery wind to clear off lingering dust (you will never leave the forest though without a light coating of inside car dust).
Run 1, Phil Campbell set the bar high leading the field with a 7:11 straight out of the gates. Mike Goldsbury, Dave Strong & Grant Liston following closely behind. Right through the field, the timing is seconds from the next, a chance for teams to get a feel for the road & prepare to push the comfort zones into run 2.
Classes B, C & D making up the proportion of the field, let the battles begin. Tony Yong appeared to have mechanical issues leaving him unable to finish run 2. Phil Broadbent netted a second in class B to Mike Goldbury, Lukas Ramsay rounding out the tri-fector. Grant Liston’s many years in the forest paying off with 7:12, Bryn Jones 2nd in his Ford Fiesta & Mark Nielson just seconds off in 3rd in class C. Charlie Evans & Dave Strong had mere seconds between them, a cats whisker & Wayne Pittams coming in 3rd place to round out class D.
Class E was surprising lighter than usual. Phil stamping down a tough run 2 time to beat at 6:56, closest was Rick Aubin with 7:13 & Hamil Pala gave it a good push with 7:18 seeing him sneak into the top 8, 3rd in class E in run 2. Jay Pittams & Chris Burke had dual battles in Class G & class H saw Gary Wainwright & Colin Cole trading seconds for placings, with Craig Tickle ending in 3rd position.
The field was still incredibly strong running into the 3rd run. With 2 DNS, attrition was not knocking people back today. Tony Young got going again, by gawd, Sam Broadbent must have snuck in some NOS between runs pulling out a 7:12 on Mike Goldsbury’s 7:07, Lukas still pushing hard 5 secs back. Grant & Bryn were now 2 secs apart & Brendon Andrews now joined the top 3 in class C. Dave & Charlie were going into the hundred’s of a second to determine the fastest & Wayne Pittams held again onto 3rd fastest in class D. Drink your Red Bull if you want to catch Phil who was flying, Rick Aubin, Noel Miller & Hamil Pala were up to the challenge. Class H times were mere seconds from another, Gary Wainwright holding on tightly to 1st place in class.
The many spectators who had gathered for the day prepared to capture those pushing to the max into run 4.
For a majority of the competitors, this is the last run of the day. On this occasion though, time was in the green & competitors were offered a 5th run outside of the run 5 run offs. A few did indeed oblige, sometimes another good push can be a bit hairy but might as well go for another if the fuels still in surplus.
When you’re 1 of 1 in class A, the odds are high of a class win & job well done for Tony Young. Class B placings were status quo from the previous run, Sam Broadbent continuing a good hard push, 2nd in class B. Grant Liston & Bryn Jones ended 2 secs from one another, the final push from Brendon Andrews, John Whooley & Dennis Harvey went down to hundreds of a second, all with a 7:25 end time. Such a close result saw Brendon just take out the 3rd slot with 7:25.33 in class C.
Charlie Evans just pipped Dave Strong in class D taking the win with the 2 sec difference. Rick Aubin continued his strong charge, Noel Miller stealing 3rd from Hamil Pala by 2 secs with a 7:12.
Jay Pittams joined the under 7 min club with a stella run 4 time of 6:55 in class G. Gary Wainwright had his 1st place set with a 7:24, Colin Cole a mere second behind him.
Run 5, Jay Pittams charged hard & gave it all he had but Phil Campbell well & truly had the cat in the bag with a final time of 6:38.
Jay Pittams 2nd overall with a 6:54 & third in the podium ring was Charlie Evans with 7 flat.
The progressional placings are a run-to-run talking point but the class battles harvest the real desire to pip your fellow competitors. They span over events, variable courses & conditions, heck they span multi-year if you’re counting. I mean we race to win but it’s not always a trophy that determines a win on the day. A good days racing with mates seems very much like the ultimate win to me.
Round 3 of the Northern Rallysprint Series, TVCC will be offering Piakonui Road
IN REVERSE
Clubs have really stepped up this year & the offering of the reverse course direction is just what the series needed to keep it fresh. Organizer’s having to go over safety plans, new pace notes needed & in some cases, additional personnel are rqd to make these variations in direction happen.
Hats off, thank you participating clubs for being so accommodating.
Get your entries in NOW, entries close Thursday 27th April @ 5:00pm
This is the final round for automatic registration to the Northern Rallysprint Series.
If you have pre-registered for the series online but have not yet competed, you’ll need to enter this upcoming round to qualify to be in the series.
Please see Hamil Pala @ the event if you want any smaller NRSS window stickers, there’s also a couple of door banner stickers left.
Points are up
Check out the Points Tables as they stand.
