Category: Latest Updates

Well, with the series over and some changes on the horizon for the Northern Rallysprint Series it’s about time that we wrapped up the 2020 series, in what was a very strange year due to the covid pandemic.

But, before going any further we must acknowledge all the competitors, marshalls, helpers, sponsors and the car clubs that supported the 2020 series, and in particular Chris “Rambo” Ramsey and the Hamilton Car Club, who put in so much work for their round at Hoddle Road only to have Auckland go into a 2.5 Lockdown, ruling out any travel for those competitors North of the Bombay Hills. It seriously affected the entry list, making it a “Void” round for the series in 2020, and no doubt gave Rambo a few headaches for a week or so! The event did go ahead as a stand-alone rallysprint for anyone that could make the trip.

Next, congratulations to Graham Featherstone and Dave Deveonport on winning the Drivers & Co Drivers championships again, for a record winning streak of 7 straight championships for Feathers. That will take some beating and I’m sure it will be the record to beat for quite some time. Hayden Mackenzie and Michael Goudie came in 2^nd overall with Matt Jensen and Tyson Jemmet taking the 3^rd overall, all of these guys in Mistibushi Evo’s.

Top 2wd finisher was Grant Liston, who finished 6^th overall in his Honda Integra, just nudging ahead of Charlie Evans in his RX7. Liston also taking the class C victory for cars 1601 to 2000cc. Evans taking the over 2000cc class D.

Just behind Liston and Evans on the overall board was the spectacular Jay Pittams with 8^th overall, but more importantly he was the class winner for the Classic (Class G ) 4wd with his Subaru.

Class B, for upto 1600cc was a fantastic battle from round 1 between Michelle Brunt and Gareth Eady, both in Starlets. In the early rounds Scott Ogle was the man to beat, but never participated after round 2. From then on it was a ding dong battle for the next few rounds with Eady taking the maximum points at round 3, Brunt returned serve at the next round. With the Hoddle road event being declared null and void for the series it came down to the final round at Piakonui Road were Eady managed to take the maximum points and therefore the class win and championship. A thorn in the sides of both drivers was john Paul Van Der Mays who was always hard on the heels of the Starlet piolets in his Suzuki swift, keeping them honest and certainly applying plenty of pressure, resulting in 3^rd in class.

Class A, was taken by Mark Bradly in his rapid 1200 Datsun, unfortunately Mark had no competition, although Justin Glavish did take round 1 whilst Mark was absent. Now for anyone who knows anything about rallying in the top half of New Zealand you will know that Glavish is no slouch, he’s very quick and having a Glavish V’s Bradly battle for the class championship would have been a fantastic spectacle. However it was not to be with Glavish concentrating on co driving for his partner Michelle Brunt. Take nothing away from Bradlys achievements as although he was the only registered competitor completing on the rounds from RD2 to RD4 he punched well above his weight, finishing 26^th overall in a 1300cc car is pretty fair effort, and this with missing two rounds.

Don Needham took the classic class in his mk2 Escort, despite selling the car before the series was finished, doing enough on the first four rounds allowing him the luxury of not needing to compete on his home event due to accumulating enough points to make him uncatchable. Brian Best did all he could in his superb MK1 V8 Escort but had to settle for 2^nd with Garry Wainwright taking 3^rd in his RX7.

Hello everyone,

Hope your all keeping well and safe.

I guess there’s no point in waffling on too much regarding the current situation regarding the covid19 virus, strange times to say the least and I appreciate that at this point in time motorsport is not too high on everyone’s agenda.

However, it is something to look forward to once this is all over, but regarding what events are likely to happen I would not have a clue, simply no one knows!

At this stage we have a couple of options,

1. A) Sit and wait it out and try and resurrect some sort of a season once it’s over.
2. B) Call it a day and take the results from our three rounds.

Regarding option A, we still have three rounds to go, the Thames valley CC round at Paikouni Road, the South Auckland CC Maramarua forest event and the Hamilton CC event at Hoddle Road. I think it’s very unlikely that we will get all three in, but the Hoddle Road is possibly the favourite at the moment due to its date in the calendar. I don’t know how far any of the clubs are with planning, road closures, permits in, resident visits etc,etc. so we will just have to sit tight and wait!

On another plus side, we may well have another event to our calendar for 2021 with the addition of an event run by the Motorsport Bay of plenty CC. We have been down there several times in the past and its always proved to be a great event.

Over the past few seasons the number of MBOP crews attending AND registering for the series has steadily grown and I think this season we have 8 crews registered, they are becoming the strongest club in the series regarding numbers, so it’s no surprise to hear interest of running an event.

It’s early days yet, and as mentioned above with all the uncertainty surrounding not only our sport but all others as well it’s going to be hard locking anything in at this stage, but we are still trying and will continue to keep working on getting the series back up and running as soon as we can.

The main thing is, stay safe, adhere to all the rules and hopefully we will be back out skidding sometime in the near future.

Cheers for Now.

Steve Russell.

Well, Well,Well. How things can change! after three fantastic rounds we now find ourselves at the halfway point of the series, OR possibly the end! Of course the last few words are a little over the top at this stage but due to the uncertainty of the Coronavirus who really knows. At this stage motorsport NZ are not issuing any permits until at least Mid May, which has put a stop to the next few rounds of the rallysprint series. I must admit i do feel for the car clubs, especially the South Auckland Car Club who were to be the next round, and by all accounts it was going to be a ” Biggie ” with many rally crews using it for a run out prior to the national championship which was to start pretty soon, but again this championship has also has fallen victim to the uncertainty. So, at this stage were going to concentrate on the good things that’s happened with the series.

It was great to see Dylan Turner return after missing round 2. Matt Jensen and Haydn McKenzie were also out to keep applying the pressure on our champion Graham Featherstone after both beating him at round 2. National rally campaigners Kingsley Jones and Raana Horan alias team Skoda were also present, and although not registered to the series were to provide more pressure to Feathers. Jack Hawkeswood, Dave Strong and Ben Thomasen were other drivers quite capable of walking away with a victory as well, but fear not, Super cool Feathers  “showed em who was boss”. A tyre selection issue costing him dearly at round 2 was not to be repeated, and as always he showed why he’s in the master class at rallysprints. His system is quite simple, yet know one else seem’s to be able to do it with such precision or consistency, he simply gets faster and faster, as does everyone but he has the knack of knowing just how faster to go, it’s unreal!

After three rounds he,s now taken a rather decent lead of 12 points, he still led the series coming into this round but by only 1 point. Admittedly his chasers had problems, but that’s the way it goes!

A full report and photos will be in the 2nd edition of ” A little bit sideways”. Just a quick word here to all you rally fans, we,ve all heard of the pressures that business’s are facing due to the Coronavirus, this rally mag is the same and no different to any other business’s. Jason and Dee put their heart and soul into this and with no events to cover they too are now in an uncertain position. So, if you have any stories, any car build projects, any articles you feel you could contribute then please get in touch with Jason, and help support his mag.

As for the series, well we simply do not know of the outcome for 2020. We still have three rounds to go, obviously the dates are going to change but the big problem is when? as every other series will have be facing the same problems, and its hard enough trying to fit everyone into the calendar as it is. All we can say, is simply watch this space, keep fit and healthy and look after yourselves, your family’s and your mates.

The points table will be up in a couple of days, so please check out and call back. There are a couple of changes to the results that were awarded on the day, due to a miss understanding, everyone involved has been notified and have accepted the outcome.

Cheers for now.

Hello everyone,

and welcome to the first rallysprint update for 2020.

Hopefully you all had a great Christmas, and all the best for the New Year, hope you all managed to spend some time in your shed and your cars are already to go for round 1, Ruarangi Road on the 2^nd Feb.

It only seems 5 minutes ago that we had the 2019 prize giving, as usual it was a great evening and  combining with the Top Half Rally series prizegiving the numbers were good, however there was quite a few regulars missing from the rallysprint competitors due to having the evening so close to the Christmas break, something that we will be avoiding in 2020.

If you check out this year’s rounds you will see that the season is quite compact, with the only question regarding the Hamilton Car Club event. We will let you know ASAP regarding this, hopefully prior to round 1 as we know it could make a difference to people’s plans for the series. As it stands if we have either 6 or 5 rounds it will still be “drop a round” regarding points.

The only other thing at this stage is to notify you that the allocation of points for the classes has been altered, to be more in line with the overalls. Check it out on “Know the rules”. Last year we had it similar, but the points did not go down far enough, and I know that it’s just as competitive at the lower end of the tables as it is at the top. Last year we had 4pts allocated to all finishers from about 6/7^th placing, this did not really reflect on who was beating who, with the new points allocation it now reflects a truer table.

I’d also like to point out that 2020 is actually the 10^th year that ABC Pipefitters have been involved with the series, this a great achievement for a series such as ours. Since they have been onboard the series has undoubtably grown, and so a big thankyou goes out to Kevin & Robyn Flower for their support.

Well, that about brings everything up to date. The Regs & Entry for the opening round are up on the site, as are the series registration forms. You will note there is a signature needed on these forms, PLEASE fill everything in and take note of the rules for the series. Nothing has changed apart from the class allocations as mentioned above, but there have been a few “ Slips, and stretching of these rules” appearing over the last few seasons and we don’t want it to continue, nothing to serious but please adhere to the rules.

Hello everyone,

And welcome to the latest ABC Pipefitters Northern Rallysprint series update.

Firstly, thanks so very, very much too all involved with yet another fantastic series. We really are lucky to have such a great series and that’s all credit to the six car clubs and their members that put on the events. All roads are fantastic, testing, technical, challenging and exceptionally smooth, even Maramarua had no complaints.

For club level competition we really do have one hell of a series, being based in the top of the North island we are fortunate to have a large population base, obviously this helps with entry levels but just look at our last round, 71 competitors, that outshines most national rallies. That particular event, Hoddle Road was defiantly the pick of the rounds, all credit to the Hamilton Car Club for putting on a superb event.

It’s not only the numbers, or quality of events but the caliber of drivers and cars, once again its national rally standard. It really is the best “Bang for your buck” form of rallying in New Zealand.

And, it’s not over yet, we still have our prize giving. Unfortunately it’s very difficult fitting this into the calendar as there’s still an awful lot of motorsport events still left on the calendar, at this stage we are looking at October 12^th, it’s a Saturday evening and will be at the South Auckland Car Club rooms at Takanini. We will have our usual “ Spit Roast Dinner ” the bar will be open and for those who have never attended before it really is worth making the effort to get there as it’s a great evening and a great opportunity to catch up with everyone and have a laugh.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank a few people who often help out but never really get recognised……Grant Liston for helping out with our pace notes, or safety notes as some people prefer to call them. Whatever your views are we really are lucky to have these supplied free, I’ll get back to this in a moment. But, does anyone stop and think what’s involved with producing these, it’s not a five minute exercise and often involves a whole day of Grants, and Carol’s time. These are made possible by Neil Allport, he provides the gear and technology to do this, again free of charge.

To Jason Byrne of a little bit sideways, New Zealands only dedicated rally magazine, have you seen the coverage he gives us, we get pages & pages of coverage, again we get as much, if not more than the National Rally Championship, and still he does not get the support he deserves.

To Chris Alexander of Suspension Tech, another unsung hero and all round good guy who provides the trophies for our sports un sung hero’s….the co-drivers. None of the above have to do this, but they do, and it all helps to make our series the best in New Zealand.

Last, but not least, my employer, Kevin Flower of ABC Pipefitters. Not only does he help pay my mortgage but he’s been sponsoring the series now for six seasons, awesome support and its carrying on for 2020.

Now, whilst on the topic of 2020 we already have a date for round 1, Ruarangi road, an absolute classic to start the series off, so put it in your diaries February 2^nd.

So, that about sums everything up for now, check out the report and pictures in the next edition of a little bit sideways and see you all at prizegiving on October 12^th.

Cheers,

Steve & Tracy.

 

We’ve had a few people asking how to get to the points table via their mobile phones, as it wasn’t clear.

It appears our problem was our logo was covering the menu bars (now fixed), but just to make it as easy as possible to get to the points here are some easy to follow instructions :

RUARANGI ROAD, A QUICK ROUNDUP!

Sunday 20^th January, a little early for some, but still 44 crews turned up for round 1 of the ABC Pipefitters Northern Rallysprint Series. The Northland Car Club had the un-enviable task of getting the season underway, I say un-enviable as after the hiccups of last season all eyes were on the Car Club. But no one need have worried, Neil Rodgers and his crew put on a great event that everyone thoroughly enjoyed.

Ruarangi road, is without doubt a stunning piece of road, up there with the best in the country, love it, or hate it, it is a rollercoaster road like no other. The blind crests, flat out ridge tops, off camber corners and a fantastic spectator bend, especially running in the direction of today’s event, certainly one to test driver, co-driver and machine! The weather threatened to turn nasty with high winds and an early shower but it held off, infact by the end of the day the sun was out and it was scorching.

The event had the usual breakdowns, incidents and a roll over, no one hurt but the Barry Armiger incident (Car on fire) certainly was the more serious of the days incidents. Some fantastic driving was on display as crews started to blow the cobwebs out. Graham Featherstone was once again on fire…but not like Barry, pushed all the way by Clinton Cunningham, Warwick Redfern, Dave Strong and Bevan Wilson. The classes also had some great battles, but until all the registrations are sorted out it’s a little difficult at this stage to give details on the series overalls or class battles.

Full reports and pictures will be in the next edition of “A little bit sideways” magazine. Results can be found elsewhere on this site.

Round 2, another cracker of a road, Arcadia. Hosted by the Hibiscus Coast Motorsport Club will be on the 17^th of February. Regulations & entry are available on this site and on the HCMC site at www.hcmc.org.nz

Well, what an end to the 2018 ABC Pipefitters Northern Rallysprint Series, Saturday evening (27^th October) saw the South Auckland Car Club rooms packed out for the end of season prize giving. This season has had its fair share of ups & downs, but it was certainly great to finish on such a high and bodes well for the 2019 series. With every event throughout this season attracting large entry numbers it was great to see everyone show up, weather they were collecting trophies or not, it’s the support that counts, and to have guys travel down from Northland, up from Hamilton and over from the Thames Valley areas as well as the Hibiscus Coast and the two local car clubs of Pukekohe and South Auckland was extremely rewarding.

Massive congratulations to the 2018 series winners, Graham Featherstone and co-driver Dave Devonport, this being a record of 5 consecutive championships for Feathers, one that’s certainly going to take some beating. Matt Jensen and Kieran Anstis pushed them extremely hard and certainly made Feathers work hard for his victories.

Other notables performances through this season that deserve a mention was that of Michele Brunt and Waverly Jones in their 1600 Starlet, both girls well known for their co-driving abilities with their other halves, it was great to see them having a go at being an all females crew and mixing it up with the blokes, proving to be pretty competitive, Michele coming away with an equal 2^nd in the series class B championship for drivers,and Waverly also collecting 2^nd in class in the Suspension Tech co-drivers’ championship. Michele also picked up “Listo’s Star of the series”, an award for outstanding performance, speed and commitment.

Don and Wendy Needham also deserve a mention for taking the champions title for the 2wd classics, after also having an up & down season….literally. A roll at round 5 looked like ending their 2018 campaign, but due to the lengthy time before round 6 it gave them enough time to complete the repair of their MK2 Escort, this after also being refused to run at an earlier round due to a damaged door lock which could not be repaired in time for the next run, costing them valuable points. The couple just pipping Craig and Suzi Tickle’s BMW 2002 by 1 point at the final round. Now that was close.

The 2wd guys also deserve a mention, many of them run in different classes but we do have a top 2wd trophy, this year it went to Steve and Rob Goodare, but once again what top class competition he was up against. Charlie Evans, RX7. Grant Liston, Honda Integra and Anthony Jones in his Millington powered MK2 Escort…..and of course Mark Bradly deserves a round of applause for his giant killing efforts in his Datsun 1200. Mark also keeping his hands on the 1300 class champion trophy.

So, with 2018 over and dusted you would think it’s time for a rest…..Wrong! With round 1 of the 2019 series already being organised for January 20^th it’s still going to be all go for competitors to get their cars ready, round 2 will be in February, more details to follow as we will be having another convenors meeting in a couple of weeks.

A few new changes will be being made prior to the start of the 2019 series, I’ll be notifying everyone as soon as there done and up on the website so you all know what’s going prior to the series starting up again.

We (Tracy & myself) did make noises of taking a back seat for 2019 to concentrate on a few other “Priority” jobs we have to do….like getting our rally car out and joining you guys, it’s still on the cards and still high on our list, along with finishing off our house projects and sorting out our wedding. However, things have changed a little over the last week or so, and instead of trying to slow down a little we have now decided to stay on board but have also made the decision to get more involved with a couple of other local series that need a helping hand. We are hopefully  getting involved with the Top Half Rally series, and the local Hillclimb series….WHY, you may ask.

Well the Hillclimb series, the Rallysprint series and the Top Half rally series, were years ago all run by the same clubs, these events were all known as “ Interclub” events and were all traditionally held in the Top half of the North Island. The Hillclimb’s and Rallysprint’s still are but due to the obvious reasons the rally series has somewhat moved due to the loss of several rallies, and now it really covers any were in the North island were we can get a rally.

So, to my point. We are climbing onboard and trying to inject some enthusiasm to try and bring the top half rally series and Hillclimb series upto the same level as the rallysprint series. We have spoken to the people involved as they are both wanting to have a break and both are happy to take up our offer of help. We have also spoken to prospective sponsors/helpers and things are looking very encouraging. Its early days and we have lots of ideas so watch this space.

Now, getting back to the rallysprint series and one last thing before we sign off. We have eluded to this topic before, and that is the “Rallysprint Challenge”. This has come about because of Jason Byrnes magazine “A little bit sideways “ The coverage he has given the series has been brilliant and has attracted the attention of fellow competitors of the Engine Room automotive series. They are keen to have a “one off ” end of season Rallysprint against each other. So, we thought about it and now the wheels are in motion to do so, a neutral venue has been suggested and the locals in that area are extremely keen to help us out……a couple of calls have been made, meetings arranged so in the next few weeks we will try and get something sorted, maybe even a two day event….Rallysprint & Hillclimb, both on gravel and possibly on the Labour day long weekend in 2019.

Now, perhaps the biggest accolades must go to our sponsors ABC PIPEFITTERS, for supporting the series for the last 5 seasons, long may it continue. It’s great that with their support this series has gone from strength to strength and we cannot thank them enough. Also to CHRIS ALEXANDER of SUSPENSION TECH, for also coming on board to launch the Co-Drivers championship, and to go along with this NEIL ALLPORT MOTORSPORT has brought a new dimension to the series with supplying pace notes, which helps our up and coming young crews to learn their trade in a safe environment instead of having to jump straight into a rally and try to learn notes in an environment that is a little daunting to them so early in there motorsport apprenticeship

So to all the above…..THANKYOU SO MUCH.