A little bit sideways Rallying in New Zealand, where we like to get A Little Bit Sideways! Up to date Rally News from teams around the country together with event reports.
Rangiora’s Matt Summerfield heads to the opening round of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship, Rally Whangarei, with a new car to give him his best chance at championship success to date.
Summerfield finished last year’s championship in fourth overall running the older Subaru but for the 2015 season will step up to a newer Subaru originally built by Richard Mason and more recently campaigned by Brad Ayling.
Although the car is running in Group N specification, it is significantly lighter and uses a lot of higher-specification parts than the car Summerfield has previously campaigned.
Last year, Summerfield and co-driving sister Nicole started their season in an almost perfect way with second place on the opening round of the championship.
Without a chance for a serious test, the opening day of the event will see Summerfield take a cautious approach, well aware of the necessity to finish the opening round to bank a strong haul of points. With some seat time under his belt, the 22-year old will look to increase his day two speed.
There is plenty of incentive for Summerfield to perform well here in his new car, with Ayling winning a scholarship into the inaugural Pirelli Star Driver contest behind the wheel of the car in 2008 while Australian Brendan Reeves piloted the car to an impressive third place outright in 2010.
The event is also a team favourite, not only with the exciting roads that just encourage drivers to push harder, but also the two pass reconnaissance gives the brother and sister team a better opportunity to write their own pace notes.
“It is a really exciting opportunity for us to get into a new car for the first time in three years. Although it is not a massive step forward, it is just a bit better in everything it does and that will definitely add up,” says Summerfield. “Whangarei is an event I really enjoy and have done well at, so we’ll be looking to be there at the finish to secure a strong result.”
Matt Summerfield Rallisport would like to acknowledge their sponsors, without whom their 2015 campaign would not be possible: Castrol Edge, Autotech Services, NAC Insurance, North Canterbury Energy Centre, The Gearbox Company, Chatterton Builders, Gull Fuels, Liquorland, Ashby Engineering, I C Frith Insurance Brokers and No Limit Construction.
Press Release by BB Media
