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Starting Again

Round 2

Easing Back In

A horror start to the 24′ series, the tragic death of two of our brightest competitors, Brooklyn Horan and Tyson Jemmett, at Arcadia Road has left a very deep void.

As a community, we’ll continue to spread support far and wide, it is hard to say the right thing other than it is ok to not be ok.

Please continue the support where and how you can. Together we are strong.

https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/honouring-tyson-zane-jemmett.


This running of Bothwell Loop was going to be the ice breaker, no which way about it.

Everyone was keen to get into it and the entry numbers even surprised the organizers.

It still had that feeling about it though, a strange emptiness, an anxiety, almost an awkwardness to fully fledge into the day.

A new pits area turned out to be surprisingly pleasant. A paddock adjacent to the local community hall with plenty of room. The hall itself had sophisticated bathrooms and even a playground for those who came to support their crews and brought small children.

Homemade baking scented the air, a bit spoilt really. Dare I say flat whites and mochas for those able to get past the morning butterflies. Big tick from me the writer and I wasn’t even competing.

The organizers were a bit nervous, wanting every duck lined up right. The volunteers held the focus, and a lot of thought went into making sure each person was ok to be there helping out on the day. The drivers briefing was held, the humble crowd listened and right before we departed for the day, we stopped and had a moment of silence to remember our friends. A respectful moment for them and helping us all take a step forward.

41 competitors started the day. The road was being run in reverse direction, starting at the northern end on the flat and ending up on the hilltops, around 7.5kms of limestone gravel. Running the stage from north to south changes the dynamic of the road a fair bit. In-car footage post event shows the road in its flowing state with very narrow sections, every part demanding from start right to finish. Fasten your seatbelts and listen to those pace notes!

Mechanical dilemmas struck early for some, Ray Chubb experiencing coil issues in the recce run in his BMW 135i and Hamil Pala breaking a front axle in his Mitsubishi Evo 9 a few hundred meters off the start line, forcing the team to spectate for some time.  It allowed an insight into others driving styles, Brad Hill unofficially awarded most radical driving style. 1min & 39 seconds separated the entire field on the first run, not much in it really.

Front runners Mike Young, Phil Campbell, Zeal Jones and Jack Hawkeswood set impressive opening run times. Zeal Jones recording the fastest first run time in his Skoda Fabia with a 6:03. Rallysprint eliminations dictate the top 16 on the first run and part of that bunch was Mike Goldsbury, Lukas Ramsay, Russell Jenkins and Phil Broadbent in their class B 1301cc – 1600cc cars, Stumpy Holmes and Grant Liston in their class C 1601cc – 2000cc cars and Bryn Jones and Ian Wood in their class D 2001cc and over cars. Not all class E 4WDs make up the top 16.

Unlike a hill climb, it’s balls out on the first run to make eliminations, the challenge is on from the get go. Tony Young had daughter Cayleigh giving co-driving her first go. Ending up position 19 on run one, I am not surprised she felt a little green, needing to pass the baton on a little later in the day. Sickness added to afternoon changes to teams. Highly recommended is those sticky behind the ear antinausea patches or Nausicalm tablets. They work an absolute treat, from mild to moderate motion sickness. Patches or pills and a Red Bull at lunch time, yee-hah, bring on the sideways.

With healthy numbers throughout classes B, C, D and E, classes A, G and H were guaranteed podium class positions regardless of how the day was to go, but push they did and had a good time doing so. Brian Best and Craig Tickle tussling away in class H with good battles throughout the day, shortening the gap on the final run to a mere 10 seconds.

Unfortunately, bad luck was to strike again for Rodney James in the MR2, dual driving with Bruce James, a broken brake line would have them withdraw at the end of run 1. Colin Goodwin in the Subaru Impreza also ended his run 1 with overheating issues needing to be towed out of stage.

Garry Trayes, in class A, was acquainting himself with Bothwell Loop having never been to the Waikato stage before. Tony Young, the only other class A competitor wasn’t letting the uphill geography slow him down, pedal to the metal and taking a healthy lead into run 2.

Rob Sutherlands Opel Mantra was sitting midfield in run 2. At position 17 in run 1, this car clearly has the boogie to keep up with the pack, a car as impressive as the trailer it arrives in. Another car, striking in the Waikato countryside, is the Nissan Skyline of Kaden Wood, keeping in tow with consistent times throughout the day.

Top 8, run 2, ended with Mike Young, Phil Campbell, Zeal Jones, Jack Hawkeswood, Carlin Leong, Derek Payne, Mike Goldsbury and Gavin Feast. The top three placings sitting on 5:51.47, 5:51.72, 5:51.92 respectively.

Ian Wood in his Totoya Corolla had issues and Cam McKay in the Toyota Starlet had a moment, resting against a wire fence ending in a precarious spot. A tow was required. Jeff Torkington also stopping in stage.

Run 3, top 4, this run wasn’t without further withdrawals. Jack Hawkeswood exiting with a broken axle, Bryn Jones had a brush with a bank parting way with his bumper and damaging his intercooler, Rick Aubin sustaining a flat tyre, then rim and braking issues and Dave Strong coming to a halt after point 1 with issues.  

Stumpy Holmes was entertaining sponsors as co-drivers and Sam Broadbent was driving the absolute pants off his Toyota Corolla again. Mazda man Charlie Evans was a second off Mike Goldsbury and Carlin Leong ended in 4th fastest at 5:49 in his Subaru Impreza.

Down to 29 starters later in the day, run 4 kicked off at around 3pm. Morning showers dried into pleasant afternoon autumn weather as the class battles played out.

Mike Young and Phil Campbell were neck and neck all day, now top two, with Mike just taking the win at 5:36. Charlie Evans and Ian Wood were trading seconds in class D, similarly in class C with Grant Liston and Kaden Wood. John Whooley and Stumpy Holmes would have been likely contenders if they were still going.

As thin as piece of paper was the gap between Mike Goldsbury and Sam Broadbent in class B, I’d dare say no spare tyre in either car removing unnecessary weight, and Sam had removed a bumper somewhere along the way in the day, another unnecessary fixture. Sam took out fastest class time in this run with a 6:03 vs a 6:04.

Chris Burke was the sole occupant of class G for the day and Craig Tickle and Brian Best were keeping up with the round-to-round friendly rivalry in class H, joined by Andy Bowie, Craig Tickle taking out the win with a 6:25. Back up the field in class A, Tony Young had swapped over a co-driver, (not sure if it was this run or run 3) his current co-driver was a little miffed when the scandie flick didn’t go accordingly to plan at the intersection, lurching them off to the right. In usual Tony fashion, it didn’t slow him down, finishing this run with 6:30, Garry Trayes enjoying the day and road and happy with his efforts.

It’s always a good day when all runs can complete with no major time delays or tow or retrievals cutting into running time, and you can move straight to the final run-off for the day, for top 2 in each class. The winners were sighted in the service park and sent back to the start line. Having online results is also very beneficial as people can track their progress throughout the day helping them make those ever-important decisions like when to bolt on fresh treads.

From top to bottom, class A Tony Young 6:25 and Garry Trayes 6:57.

Class B, a readjustment of final order, Mike Goldsbury 5:58 and Sam Broadbent 6:04, awesome drive Sam!

Class C had a handshake and decided to call it a day without a final run-off.

In Class D, Charlie Evans 5:57 and Ian Wood 6:01.

Class E, Mike Young 5:34 and Phil Campbell 5:35.

Class G, Chris Burke didn’t need to run-off against himself.

Class H, Craig Tickle 6:22 and Brian Best 6:32.

Overall, Mike Young 5:34, Phil Campbell 5:35, Mike Goldsbury 5:58.

 With targa on in the vicinity of the region, some had braved an exit only to be turned around and unsure which way to go home. For those that stayed, it was a welcome gathering at the local hall with an array of delicious food still available to top up energy levels. We thank the local farm owner for the use of his paddock for pits and of course the local community for their support in allowing us to use Bothwell Loop again for another year. It makes a huge difference having community support and massive effort goes in from the local club to engage with as many locals as possible.

Trophies were lined up, refreshments were served, banter was rife. It was nice. Chris Kitzen hit a new PB producing results for review some 3 mins after the last car finished for the day. We still have to wait 30mins past posting results for them to be final. Prizegiving kicked off, the winners and grinners for the day came up to collect their spoils. It was a good day’s racing with all your favourite driver and co-driver teams.

Another good day at Bothwell Loop in the mighty Waikato.

A big thank you to photographers Noah Hutchinson and Alex Stewart for action shots.

About Nikki Sim

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