Hi All

Here's an update on the last event, and what is coming up.

The Sponsors and Helpers

• REDHILLS BENZ Mercedes Parts Specialist (09) 835 3505 (Main Sponsor)
• STS Auto Reckers Subaru Parts Specialist in Otahuhu (09) 276 0397
• and of course, me.

The Stages:
There were two stages, run 4 time, to give 8 stages in total.

The first stage was a great 8.8km of very tight and twisty, highly cambered roads. It was a great gravel road with good traction, and very fast and slow corners. Lots of first and second gear work.

The second stage (10.5km) was a very big mix of styles, big uphills and downhills, a long straight, 90' bends, it was all there, along with a few big drops and some scary corners that caught out a few of the drivers. The Day
Well all was going well for the first two stages, the car was going a treat, the driver was finding his rhythm and the roads were so much fun. Time were good for the first run considering the driver was on his first event. No real scare, but highly camber second gear corners were reasonable hard to get used to (not having done any real driving on these types of roads). No big moments, and keeping the car going in the middle of the road. Only moment cam when we saw the car down the bank after the finish. As the camber on the road was a little funny when you where braking, and they had found the funny part - not!

Second run through the stages I got a lot braver and shave a few seconds off the overall times. Only one moment on a fast uphill, where I braked a little late, causing us to come up to the corner a little quickly, and a little wide.

Third run through, and I gave it my best shot at some good times. Got to the end of the stage, without one mistake, having driven as fast as I dared, and there was a lot of smoke from the front left and right sides. A quick sniff of the air, thinking, "oh dear the brakes are on fire, what do I do now" only to smell a slight oily smell. A quick look a the Oil Pressure gauge, and that was ok, so carried onto the start of the fourth stage. Went charging through that, threw the car at the corners and had a great run, again no mistakes, but I hear from the co-driver afterwards I was "going mighty close to those fenceposts".

Finally at the end of the stage, stop at the time control, and there is smoke again, so finish clocking in and move out of the control zone and pull over, extract myself from the car and notice oil on the front left mudflap (it is red so black oil stands out a bit). Have a look under the car and the cam cover had broken, and was allowing the oil to dribble out....oh dear. So it was slowly slowly back to service, and a DNF. An easy fix, but not fixable of the day. Sam, my new co-driver was great, and my driving didn't even scare him away.

Next Event
Taranaki Tarmac Rally, the 12th May, 2001
Well we aren't actually doing this, but are helping out with servicing for two fellow competitors, Alex Gilmour and Dylan Turner. This will give us a good idea what we need to organise in the Service Team for our next big event.
Which is:Greg Todd Memorial Rally, the 10th June 2001.This is a big one for the Redhills Benz Racing Team, pace notes, and the first big "serious" rally of both the driver and co-driver, so we would love to see some supporters on the sides of the roads.I will be in touch just before the next event.

Thx

Simon Bell
Redhills Rallyteam