2002 - Round One
Winger Subaru / Rock FM Top Half Series - Hamilton Rally"

Thanks to our sponsors - Redhills Benz, Valvoline, STS Subaru Reckers.

It was a day only the ducks would have loved, unless you are a mad rally driver racing through the central North Island.

We had a good day, with only a few minor problems, and were thankful to finish the rally, as the roads were very challenging due to the large amount of puddles (could have been lakes some of them) and rain.

Stage One: It was a slow start, due mainly to the lack of window wipers above 50km/hr. So the stage was spent trying to see through a windscreen being lashed by rain and wind, with the random wipe from the wipers once the speed was down (which was generally during a corner, not the easiest). so we took it fairly easy through this stage. The road was great, really well cambered, and fast in sections.

Stage Two A: Again, no wipers, and some of the fast bits were a bit scary to say the least. We had only one small moment when I braked on the camber of the road, and the back stepped out.

Stage Two B: No wipers again, and the rain just wouldn't stop. This was a great stage, started up high on a hill and wound its way down and along to the finish, with a nice tight junction in the middle, which caught out one unsuspecting Subaru driver who was perched high and dry and had obviously missed the brakes (not us though). We did give the back left tyre a bit of a smack on a big rock, which after the stage we had to do a hurried tyre change, as the tyre was ruined (the first ever in two years of competing), and only just made it there to clock in on time, which was the story for the day, as some of the touring stages were a bit tight on time. Finished the stage and finally off to service where I could fix the wipers.

Service 15min: No major problems, just changed the rear tyres, fueled up the car, and fixed those wipers, now we could see again, which helps when you are driving fast over gravel roads.

Stage Three: Well this was the stage of all stages. It started out tight for the first 10kms, and it sure was tight, some of the corners were hairpin after hairpin. It then opened out through ridges (which were cloudy and misty at times) before tight twisting downhill to finish. In the middle there was a small tunnel like glade we had to go through, which was a bit of a mission as it looked like a driveway when you were coming up to it, and it took some urging by Sam to get me to turn into it. We had a reasonable run through, although, still lacking stage miles in the car this year, and on a new brand of tyres, I wasn't entirely comfortable, as I would have preferred the 13" Bridgestones in this weather.

Stage Four: This stage we actually finally had a bit of a go, it had fast flowing corners mainly, with a few tighter corners to keep you on your toes. No moments, just a steady drive through.

Service 30min: Back to service, a quick refuel and a quick clean for the car, and some food for the hungry driver.

Stage Five: Rerun of stage one, and we had a good go at this, as I was familiar with the road. We had a problem with the pace notes at the beginning, which meant we were without them for most of the stage, which meant I was braking for the crests and corners a bit more than I should have been.

Stage Six A and B: Stage A was sadly shortened, from 7 to 5km, so it was a quick blast through the stage, and finally, no rain, so the road was easier to drive, and there was less water coming in the roof vents.

Service 15min: Final service at the Pio Pio School, and a chance to refuel and had another bit of food. The day was quite tight on times, so it was also finally a chance to have a bit of a breather.

Stage Seven: This was the same as Stage 4, but held in reverse. Finally felt a bit more comfortable with the car, so had a good go. The road was a bit chopped up in places, and some big rocks were starting to appear on the roads, but it was another clean run through.

Stage Eight: This was the mammoth Stage 3 in reverse. So it started out with a tight uphill. Once again, it was raining, and the roads were quite tricky, as the ruts were starting to have big puddles in them. Through the middle it was fast sweeping corners, which was great, up along a ridge, with some big drops on either side. Our only problem through this was the distinct lack of power, as the uphills were making the car a bit breathless. The final 10km were great, lots of tight twisty corners, and I was having a blast flicking the car into the corners. With the finish finally coming up after 23mns of hard and testing driving. There was a lot of fence damage on that stage, and one in particular belonged to Dylan Turner, who had a lucky escape with a fence and a big drop. The car came off secondhand...but who needs a bumper, and this is the second time it has beat the car back to service!!

From there it was a long touring stage back to Otorohonga for a quick 15min service, then back to Hamilton for the finish. We started at 55th on the road, and improved to 44th o/a, and 12th in class at the end of the event. Not our best finish, but it was a great day (besides the persistent rain).

Next event, Taranaki Tarmac Rally on the 20th April. Not much work to be done beforehand, only a new oil pump, 2 x CV boots, increase the turbo boost (more power..yeah), and check out the front left, as I gave it a fairly large bang on a rock, so we are nearly ready to go again.

Thx

Simon Bell and Sam Ackland
Redhills Rallyteam