NZ Truth Rally Xtreme - North Island Round 2 Review

Conditions which could best be described as “challenging”, greeted the twenty registered NZ Truth Rally Xtreme crews last Saturday for the 185km, 8 stage Inframax Rally of Waitomo.

The region had received it’s fair share of rain during the days leading up to the event and the weather gods certainly did not smile on the Hamilton Car Club’s first gravel rally for four years. Rain, hail, sunshine, flooding and slips all made their own special contribution to the event. Congratulations go to the organisers and their army of volunteers who dealt with all these challenges with apparent ease and a pleasant attitude.

And so what happened on the road? With some of the country’s top rally drivers using the event for testing, the contenders in the NZ Truth Rally Xtreme Challenge needed to focus on the serious business of scoring points towards the ten qualifying spots. Top seed Glenn Inkster set about going one better than the first round at Wairarapa by winning four stages and placing 2nd or 3rd on the remaining four, to win the event by a clear margin of 45secs. Hawera’s Glenn Smith and co driver Brett Wright also won four stages but punctures on SS1 and 3 blunted their attack and they settled for second place. Proving that his recent success on tarmac was no fluke, Matthew Jensen made it a clean sweep of the podium places for Mitsubishi Evo pilots. Matthews only stage time outside the top three all day was SS2 where the Evo6 experienced a recurrence of the coil misfire that plagued them in Taranaki.

Craig Stevens in his Escort came home first of the 2wd’s to take maximum points after a consistent run. Newcomer Justin Glavish rewarded his co driver Dana Brookes with a fine second place, beating the more fancied Tony McConachy who experienced a series of mechanical difficulties in his hybrid Starlet. Tony was probably the wettest and muddiest driver to be seen at a rally for a long time as he was constantly making running repairs during the touring sections. He did however still manage a smile for the interview, proving that any rallying is better than none at all.

Behind the top three there were certainly a few tales to tell. Lewis Scott and co driver Mike Reid are nursing a few bruises after making a spectacular exit from the event on a tightening corner after a very fast section. Their leased Evo7 somersaulted a long way into a paddock and it seems a new shell is needed. We hope their recovery is swift and that they will make the next round in Hawkes Bay. The top Subaru pilot Wayne Pittams, suffered an extensive oil fire resulting from an engine oil leak which forced his retirement at the end of SS4. Anton Meier will be wondering what he has to do to finish a rally. Having completed an extensive rebuild after crashing at Whangarei he crashed again, although without causing quite such extensive damage. Top placed Subaru was Rob Searle from Whangarei, partnered by new co driver Reece Harrison. This pairing completed the event without an intercom, so ran mostly blind all day to finish 10th and virtually guarantee himself a spot in the finals.

Neil Marshall showed good pace to finish fourth, while Lindsay Meredith drove consistently to finish fifth. Newly married Hayden & Heather Wise in the ex Callum McInnes Evo6, opened their Rally Xtreme account with a fine 6th place. Hayden scored some top five stage times in the morning before suffering carsickness during the tighter stages after lunch. Kerry Harvey had wife Robyn co driving for the first time and having rolled at a Rallysprint the weekend prior he obviously followed some good advice from Robyn to come home 7th ahead of Nigel Adams.

Rex Visible lost time in SS2 with a puncture and after the lunchtime service in Ohura lost further time due to navigational issues. Young Alex Kelsey in the ex Hawkeswood Impreza GPA car, suffered two punctures and had to withdraw after stage three, but rejoined to gain valuable seat time before the next round in Hawkes Bay in a month’s time.

With the high rate of attrition the points, and consequently the qualifying spots, are still wide open. Going into the final qualifying round there are still four or five places yet to be decided.

Watch this space and see you in Hawkes Bay on the 26/27 July. Thanks to NZ Truth, Leggework, Hamilton Car Club and all crews for making this such a great competition.