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.
Hi there
As you know, during the weekend I competed in the Gisborne Rally. It was a tough rally, but we ended up in 9th place and second 2wd.
After recce on Friday I was confident heading into the Rally as the roads looked awesome, flowing
corners with plenty of camber, and a hard base with enough moisture to keep dust down. Overnight before the rally however there was some rain, which was going to make some spots rather slippery.
So stage one on Saturday was the shortest stage of the rally, but was still 26km long. I was wanting to push hard through there to get a good start for the day. Unfortunately nearly straight away the car felt unsettled, and it soon became apparent that the Limited Slip Diff was playing up, making it an open diff. This essentially meant that every time a front wheel lost traction it would basically be one wheel drive.
I pushed on anyway, but struggled to learn the new characteristics of the car, having 2 spins in stage one alone. Stage two was the Motu, 46km of one of the windiest roads in New Zealand. I again pushed hard but could again feel time being lost on the tight corners. After the first two stages I was 15th overall and second 2wd, 42 seconds behind Marcus Van Klink.
The faster afternoon roads suited my car more so I was back pushing hard, managing to make up 40 seconds on the first 2wd, and climb my way up to 9th overall. It was a tough day, but again it was good to bring the car home straight, as many others weren’t so lucky. This result also bumps me up to 8th overall in the championship.
The next event is in the Coromandel on the 22nd of August.
Thanks to Lisa Hudson for doing a great job calling the notes. Also Cheers for the support from Farmlands, Gulf Oils, Freshmax, VJ’s
Distributers, Ultimate Motor Group and John Bates Wheel Alignments.
Thanks
Max
