Teen set for rally with his grandpa

Seeing the best drivers in the world and having fun with his grandpa is 13-yearold Arthur Broughan’s focus as he looks forward to taking part Rally New Zealand.

‘‘I want to see [Supercars star] Shane van Gisbergen. It would be cool to see him have a go and see how he goes. He started off in the karting too,’’ the Marlborough Boys College student said.

The 13-year-old and his grandfather David Taylor, 67, are the first grandfather/grandson combination to take part in the event.

A decade since it was last staged and two years after the pandemic prevented a return of Rally New Zealand, Auckland is hosting the rally which doubles as the 11th round of the 2022 World Rally Championship from September 29 to October 2.

As soon as Arthur turned 12 – the legal age to compete as a navigator in New Zealand – his grandfather took him in his Honda Civic rally car for a short gravel sprint.

‘‘After the first time, I liked it, I wanted to do a few more,’’ Arthur said.

‘‘It’s a bit faster than a kart and I like being close to the banks and hills and sliding on the gravel, that sort of thing.’’

Arthur has been karting since he was eight and is the current national schools champion. As co-driver for his grandfather, he will navigate by reading off a set of pace notes while his grandfather drives.

‘‘Making sure I get the calls right is pretty important. Not making any mistakes, or no calls at the right time, that’s a problem I’ve been having, that slows us down a bit.’’

The pair had their first outing together at the Otago International Rally in April this year, finishing second in their class.

‘‘We did very well, so we are pretty confident that we can do the job, and have a crack at this big rally,’’ Taylor said.

It is not the first time the Taylor has teamed up with a youngster.

In 2017 he paired up with Jared Hudson, who had just turned 13 at the time, as his co-driver for some club rallies in the South Island.

They then competed together in the New Zealand Rally Championship in 2018 taking runner-up spot for all twowheel drive cars.

‘‘It doesn’t matter how old you are. It’s having the aptitude and the ability that’s important. Same for a driver. Obviously the older you get, you naturally think you will get slower, but it’s about skills and experience more than age,’’ Taylor said.

Taylor said Arthur had been learning what to do, and he had been supporting him to build a mutual confidence. ‘‘I don’t want him to be scared, I don’t want to crash because he gets it wrong, so we’ve built that confidence,’’ Taylor said.

‘‘His job is very important to keep us on the road, and allow the driver confidence to drive quicker, because you can’t see around all the corners, obviously.

‘‘His ability to assess and understand and communicate, he has probably learnt some of that through his karting.’’

Originally from Scotland, Taylor started rallying quite late in life with his first event being Westland Rally in 2016. ‘‘The roads in New Zealand are quite different to many other countries around the world,’’ he said.

‘‘In Scotland, the rallies are through forests, but in New Zealand, the roads are crafted in gravel roads, very fast, spectacular scenery, quite challenging for the driver.

‘‘The world rally drivers are really looking forward to this.’’

The pair will head to Auckland on September 26 to begin the rally stages reconaissance and notes preparation work before the event proper starts with a night stage in the Auckland Domain on September 29.

Arthur’s mum Lynne Broughan will also make the trip with her husband.

‘‘It’s awesome that they can go off and do that together. I think it’s great.

‘‘But then next thing, it will be Arthur driving and maybe grandpa will have to be the navigator instead.’’