Rallying in Wine Country

The first round of the NZRC kicked off with a bang, and I need a bit off kicking to get me to update this more regularly.

For this one I just mooched down to the sunny Hawkes Bay on my own accord (well, with the boyfriend) - asin no real particular assignment to stories or photos.

It's good to just get in the practice with the photography and be seen around at the rallies.

The Tomoana Warehousing Rally of Hawkes Bay included many of the usual suspects as well as a fair amount of newbies - which is brilliant to see with the world the way it is at the moment.

To cut a two-day rally short, former NZ champion Richard Mason with his wife riding shotgun again crossed the ramp first. Last year's champion Hayden Paddon took the silver and Emma Gilmour wasn't far behind for third.
Both Emma and Hayden look forward to busy seasons contesting the New Zealand Rally Championship and the Asia Pacific Rally Championship.
Two Evolution Xs lined up at the start of the rally as well as one as a 0 car - this was more than I thought there would be!

These cars had some interesting trouble when they came to the ford on SS8 that I was positioned at. Both Kingsley Thompson and Sloan Cox stopped after the water hazzard - Sloan had bent the sump guard right under the car as a result of water getting between the car and guard. Could it be something to do with ride hights in what I affectionately call the whale version evo? This one was surely beached.

Interestingly, there were no new-shaped Imprezas having an outing in the weekend.

Fiesta Sporting Trophy NZ is having a cracker turn-out this year. Five cars lined up for the first round, including last year's champion Patrick Malley who is also competing in the UK FST this year. Also returning was Ben Jagger, his Fiesta turning heads in a vibrant green. Ben Hunt joins the crew as winner of tier one of Rally NZ's Rising Stars program - the prize gives him a paid season in the NZRC in a Fiesta.

Malley was on fire over the weekend, in a speed way rather than the actual fire he had last weekend in at the Bulldog Rally in the UK - He pulled an impressive 7th overall, this with a cold and jetlag!

Overall Classification

Entry List

Photos (FB)

I believe this about sums up some of the big stories of the weekend and how the season is developing. I'm really looking forward to getting to know some of the new guys and watching how they get on.