Sprint series at Mangatainoka
The 2020 Engine Room Sprint Series kicked into gear on Saturday 22 February with Pahaheke Road near Mangatainoka.
A light rain brought relief to competitors and organisers as the pit paddock filled up in anticipation of the first skid of the year for many. Tucked away in the woolshed, Diane and Katrina had possibly the best spot as they greeted a steady flow of competitors for documentation.
The smell of a barbecue breakfast drifted across the paddock courtesy of Ruahine School, while the hum of a generator signified the creation of allimportant morning coffees from the coffee cart. As 9.15am rolled around Brooksy delivered drivers’ briefing and was able to switch to co-driver mode as he handed the reigns over to the Clerk of the Course. Competitors then rolled out the gate for a recce run.
Practice was an uneventful affair, although it would be the end of the day for the Corollas of Peter Langdon and Cam McLean, with the latter emitting a strong smell of oil and smoke before coming to a stop on the return to the pits.
A decent amount of gravel on the road made it reasonably slippery and it would take a couple of runs for it to sweep off. During the course of the day dust would come and go as the occasional shower passed over the 5.5km course.
With the field split into two groups it was the ‘fast’ group up first and the Impreza of Richard Mason setting the pace with a time of 3:48.80. Just under five seconds behind him was Daniel Feck in the FTO, with Mike McLean third fastest also cracking the 4 minute mark. Unfortunately McLean’s day would come to a premature end on the next run as he clipped a bank, rolling the Impreza. His time on the first run was enough to secure 5th place for the day.
Geoff Argyle’s Evo 8 encountered mechanical issues which saw him and Andrew Lowe miss their second and first runs respectively. At the end of the day Argyle would round out the top 3 with a time of 3:51.40 and Lowe would be 26th. William Menzies slotted into 4th place in the ex-Adam Bligh Evo 6, also with a sub-4 minute time.
In Class E it was the Legacy of Rex Vizible leading the way on 4:07.20, 10 seconds ahead of Bryce Hackett’s Lancer. Matt Mason (Impreza) was third fastest but by the end of the day would slip behind Simon Bicknell with whom he was sharing the car. Vizible would go on to take class honours by 7 seconds.
The second run saw Keith Stewart (Legacy) drop 20 seconds and he would go faster on the last run to secure 5th in class.
After the first run it became clear that Robin Feck would be the man to beat for two wheel drive honours.
His high powered, Class C MR2 may have been described by one onlooker as “agricultural” but it is hard to beat. The bar was set with a 4:07.60 and as the times dropped he remained unbeatable, becoming the only two wheel drive to go under 4 minutes at 3:59.70 and taking 6th overall. The Class B Corolla of Marty Bertelsen was the next fastest, nearly 8 seconds adrift of Feck.
Class C was rounded out by Brian Terry in another MR2 taking 2nd in class, edging out his son Shaun Terry by two seconds for bragging rights after Shaun put the MR2 through a fence on the final run.
A niggling electrical problem with the Fiesta saw Jackson Clendon struggling to find speed, leaving him 0.7 seconds off Euan Beattie (Corolla).
Richard Prouse (BMW E36) and Paavo Torkkola (Rover SD1) kept their times coming down throughout the day to finish under the five minute mark, with Torkkola able to drive the Rover home as usual.
With Bertelsen the fastest Class B car it was Greg Browne in his new Integra, and Chris Gracie (Civic) who rounded out the top 3 in the class.
Browne was just two seconds adrift of the top spot with Gracie just under five seconds back, a solid result for his first outing in the car since a crash a few years ago which caused significant damage. Callum McKenzie comprehensively took family honours ahead of Ross McKenzie as they shared an MX5, with Grant McGregor (Swift), Ian Barr (Corolla) and Rob Piper (Sprinter) respectively placing in between.
Of course we can’t forget our Class A competitor, Scott Harland, in the Mini.
Beating his fastest time from last year in the practice run he chipped a total of 25 seconds off it over the course of the day to finish 24th out of 31 entrants.
Overall the day ran smoothly and was a real credit to the organisers, especially Andrew Brooks as the first event he has organised.
Wurth New Zealand came on board sponsoring prizes for competitors.