RALLY OF WHANGAREI
This year was the 30th running of the International Rally of Whangarei. Taking place over the weekend of 4– 6 May, it was Round 2 of the New Zealand Rally Championship and also Round 1 of the Asia-pacific Rally Championship (APRC). The 277km of 18 special stages consisted of two Friday-night stages of 1km through Pohe Island, eight special stages on Saturday north of Whangarei, followed by six special stages on Sunday to the south of Whangarei. Each of the roads was used twice over, which meant that times the second time over the roads were quicker with the gravel having been swept to the side during the first pass-throughs. Conditions were fine for the most part until a small front moved overhead part way through Sunday.
The inclusion of Hayden Paddon to race in all but one round of the six-round 2018 Championship has certainly drawn more spectators to the sport. Being seeded number one, he was first on the road and effectively the gravel sweeper; however, he still showed true class to win all 18 special stages and, in the process, set several stage records. His final time of 2h 45min 4.4s was an incredible seven minutes quicker than second-placed Ben Hunt, who clocked in at 2h 52min 30.7s. A further minute behind and rounding off the top three was Australian rally champion Nathan Quinn and co-driver David Calder, who were in a Ford Fiesta R5. Of the four APRC cars entered, only two were to finish, albeit a little way down the field, with Yuya Sumiyama and co-driver Takahiro Yasui in a Skoda Fabia R5 finishing 11th, and Italians Fabio Frisiero and co-driver Simone Scattolin driving a Peugeot 208 AP4 and finishing in 14th place.
The Historic class this year had just two cars entered, meaning that there wasn’t too much competition. Regan Ross and his co-driver Samantha Gray, driving a Ford Escort RS1800, won the coveted Motogard trophy, finishing five minutes ahead of the John Silcock / Grant Marra pairing in the Mazda RX-7. They were also a commendable eighth fastest overall. Regular Historic entrant and winner of the last couple of years Tony Gosling has since moved on to the Open 2WD category but still managed to bring the Escort home in
first place over Wayne Pittams, who was also driving an Escort MKII. Having last raced on gravel 23 years ago, Steve Cox, who many will know for his F40 replica and regular attendance at the Leadfoot Festival, turned up with an ’83 Toyota Starlet. It was a 27-month long project to get the car raceready for the rally. At the heart of the car is a Toyota 4K 1300cc engine, which belts out up to 112kw (you can read more about this car on page 28 in this issue). He was another Open 2WD driver but was forced to retire at the end of the first day when the fan belt gave way. A new belt was delivered on Saturday night, but it was subsequently found that the head gasket had been damaged.
The next Championship round will be the Lone Star Canterbury Rally on 3 June in Christchurch. With Hayden Paddon not signed up for the event, all eyes will be watching to see who will step up.