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South Auckland Car Club drew the round 3 series drawcard & were able to facilitate an excellent day’s racing. Autumn sunshine blazed & screams of unleashed horsepower were in the air, rolling across the hills.

The course direction had shifted from previous hillclimbs, it incorporated elements of the WRC stage, it had crests & humps, bends & turns, machinery (can look at impressive machinery after run), the course kept you on your toes. I don’t know how all drivers feel about crests & humps, but spectators join me in saying ‘hell yeah’!

Mark Tapper not shy to give her a kick when lining up one of a couple of decent crests the course had to offer.

Run 1 seems to blow out cobwebs & test the underfoot. With 52 entrants, it’s a chance to pave out the driving lines & start the days push. For a shorter course of 4.9kms, dramas started early with Chris Subritzky having issues in his BWM 130i, close to marshal point 1, understeering into a ditch & receiving unnecessary panel beating to the underbody resulting in an early exit. Adrian Sutton also experiencing a gearbox issue in the Nissan Pulsar that sounded & felt ‘not good/expensive’. Unfortunate for Steven Dill who was next up for dual driving duties, hard luck guys.

Phil Campbell maintained his masterclass driving style with a 3.40 fastest time in his Ford Fiesta, followed closely by Hayden Mackenzie in the Toyota Yaris 3.42.19 & Todd Bawden in the Ford Fiesta R5 3.42.69.

Class H, 2WD classic, & class G, 4WD classic, were out in force strengthening the class battles. Bryn & Anthony Jones were dual driving the Mk2 Escort in class D, Ray Chubb was giving it a good go in the immaculate BMW 135i, not too far behind the Jones’s & Mazdaman Charlie Evans in the RX7. Honda powered John Whooley settled on a fair 4.12 time in class C, leaving next in line Glen Farrier with some work to do. Team Toyota, Phil & Sam Broadbent were carving out tracks & doing the dance, Simon Rabbidge keeping pace in the Suzuki Swift.

Has Tony Young driven this course before? 1300cc untethered Datsun 1200 power ripped around the course in a 4.14, Garry Trayes & Adam Wilson in Toyota Starlets getting in the groove ready to reset for run 2.

Quentin Palmer/Mitsubishi Evo 5 pushed back for a 3rd overall in run 2 while front-runner Phil Campbell held the line 7 seconds in front of rival Todd Bawden. Rick Aubin also charged in his Mitsubishi Evo 8 making the top 8 eliminations behind Hayden Mackenzie, Mark Tapper, Dave Strong & Ben Hubband. Great to see Jeremy Dawson out racing again dual driving with good mate Jimmy Dunlop in the Subaru Impreza, what are mates for eh to share their car & the good times – awesome guys!

Run 2 then had a cruel twist, issue with car 39 rolled, Andrew Keighley testing the ballast levels & unfortunately rolling the Mk 2 Escort in stage. A check everyone’s ok & straight back into it. A short time later, de je vu – Simon Rabbidge also having a big moment in his Suzuki Swift with a roll. Dismissing some vital equipment, the sump guard embedded in the clay bank, at least the pieces were locatable with a frustrating exit off stage.

Many cars will catch your attention, none more though than Steve Cox’s Audi Quattro beaming. Its agility & power is impressive & we watch you dance & weave. Not only can we catch your antics at start, finish & some of the spectator points, but friends of Steve’s have created a beaut YouTube compilation allowing us the in-stage experience. Check it out, it’s one of a few good YouTube clips showcasing the day ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BN0iOTQbgE

1.30pm run 3 started solid, Mark Tapper & Dave Strong just ending up falling short & locked out of the top 4 eliminations. In class battles, Brian Best was playing a favourite game in class H called chase & tag Craig Tickle, just able to pin the tail on the donkey. Class G, Bevan Wilson/Subaru Impreza just inside the 3 min club 3.58 ahead of Shaun Wade & Ben Brown in Mitsubishis.

Charlie Evans wouldn’t give it to Bryn Jones easily, with Jonesy just a whisker back, mere seconds separating the trio. Class C maintained its leader with John Whooley charging still, Bruce James/MR2 & Glen Farrier/Mk2 chasing hard. Class B, there were 3 after Phil Broadbent has some issues & had to forfeit the run , Sam Broadbent happily waived the baton & charged to a finish of 4.12 in front of Rodney James/MR2 & Jeff Hill/Toyota Corolla. Tony Young still having fun in class A battles ahead of Garry Trayes & Adam Wilson, who got stuck in some rally traffic after Simon Rabbidge’s roll earlier on.

Now let me enjoy some air …

Shaken & stirred with just a little hang time, my ideal recipe. Commitment stations, spectators balancing phones for the best snap or videos. Big ups teams, you delivered, we liked. Yes, yes.

Timing wise, we were tracking well at just after 3pm. Timing control & results volunteers were fueled by home baking, sugar right into the veins to keep up with data entry, as drivers were running on adrenaline to see the push intensify into the 4th run. Phil Campbell clocked in a 3.31, Hayden Mackenzie now clearly reacquainted with the car but out by 100ths/second for top 2 placings losing out to Todd Bawden 3.34.35 to 3.34.61.

Flip it round, we think Tony Young has done this rodeo before topping class A with a 4.06. Sam Broadbent was 1 sec back to lead the class B team in front of Rodney James. The gap had closed in class D, Bruce James chasing down John Whooley, 4.07 to 4.10 to John, nicely played. Bryn Jones and Charles Evans were still dancing the salsa, all fiery like, Jonesy kept up an impressive pace, but just out of the top 2 in class. There were a whole bunch of class E competitors that had ended the run impressively & within the 3 min group. Rick Aubin & Carlin Leong keep doing what you are doing, you guys have been having awesome run-to-run and event-to-event progress!

Run 5 goes as fast the cold beers waiting at prizegiving. It is necessary & usually painless for those chasing top class times. Phil Campbell setting a finish time of 3.30 for the class E chargers & overall field leader, congratulations! Class H, Adrian Smith with a hundredth of a sec win over David Ayling. Class G saw only Shaun Wade run to take out the win. Class D the lads were still at it, 3.50 to 3.51 to Bryn, congratulations Bryn.

Bruce James took them brave pills & gave it all he had finishing on a 4.06 to John Whooley with a 4.07, right down to the wire! Class B, when your opponent isn’t able to race, then buckle up son & give it another elbow, happy to race another race. Garry Trayes happy to joust a final run with the Datsun, happy with anther days racing.

Where better to have prizegiving than in the heart of the Force Motorsport workshop, dotted with current projects, the familiar smell of hard work & elbow grease. The workshop itself dwarfed by dominant heavy machinery spread around the place. Prizegiving’s engaged by both event organizers. Dishing out the rally sprint winners’ placings first, then the North Island Rally Series, who had used Jacks Ridge as their round 1 to kick off the series. It’s great we can have these awesome series battles in action giving competitors all the very best of rally sprint & rally action.

Next rounds

MBOP Stanley Road, Whakatane 23-June

HCC Hoddle Road, Otrongohanga 18-Aug

Event organizer’s welcoming competitors to the Bay’s hospitality.

TVCC has had to forfeit 9-Jun to hopefully a date later in year. Piakonui Rd is very much a part of the series & we’re hoping to see them make the 24′ calendar.

Buckle up & enjoy the 24′ series as we track ahead. The points tables will be available soon.

Come see all your favourite competitors do battle again at the next round!

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