Subaru driver Ben Hunt put on a consummate driving display to win the Lone Star Rally of Canterbury by more than two and a half minutes today.
He and co-driver Tony Rawstorn started convincingly, winning both last night’s stages in the dark. They then carried on their successful way today, with a further four stage victories by the end of the ten stages, in what marks the halfway point of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship.
“We came here with the full intention of getting maximum points and we have come away with that. We pushed pretty hard on the night stages which stood us in good stead but we weren’t driving as hard as Otago because we were driving to avoid punctures, Auckland’s Hunt says.
Their Subaru Impreza WRX STi came in ahead of Mitsubishi teams Darren Galbraith and co-driver Rocky Hudson and Phil Campbell and Venita Fabbro.
Hunt now has a 12 point lead over Campbell in the championship with three rounds to go.
The encouraging feature of the weekend for Hunt was that despite tackling sections of the rally - based predominantly on the Ashely and Okuku forestry roads - that “hadn’t seen the sun forever” his Subaru performed faultlessly in the icy, snowy, slippery conditions.
“We had the speed there when we wanted it too,” Hunt says.
Te Aroha’s Lance Wiliams could not repeat his podium placing from the last round at Otago after a rock jammed in the wheel of his Subaru Impreza WRX R4 in stage six. It split the tyre rim, delaying the wheel change and dropping him and co-driver Raymond ‘Crunch’ Bennett down from their fourth position to eventually finish eighth.
Rangiora brother and sister pairing Matt and Nicole Summerfield had a scary night time experience, rolling their Subaru Impreza WRX STi out of the rally permanently on Saturday evening’s second stage. The duo had started strongly, finishing runner-up to Hunt on the opening stage.
CAPTION Auckland’s Ben Hunt and Nelson co-driver Tony Rawstorn power their Subaru Impreza WRX STi to victory in the Canterbury Rally today. PHOTO PLEASE CREDIT GEOFF RIDDER
Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship points
1 Ben Hunt 96
2 Phil Campbell 84
3 Graham Featherstone 56
4 Lance Williams 46
5 = Marcus van Klink 45
5 = Brian Green 45
2015 Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship calendar
Round 1: International Rally of Whangarei 17-19 April,
Round 2: DriveSouth Rally of Otago 9-10 May,
Round 3: Autosport Canterbury Rally 30-31 May,
Round 4: Gisborne Rally 27 June,
Round 5: Mahindra Gold Rush Rally of Coromandel 22 August,
Round 6: Trusthouse Racetech Rally Wairarapa 3 October.
For further information, please contact Subaru of New Zealand Public Relations - Catherine Pattison (027) 4455 389 or email catherine.pattison@subaru.co.nz