Pre Rally Canterbury - April 2017

While most people are out enjoying there 3 day weekend maybe grabbing the last of the sun on a beach or at the bach but most unfortunately most likely stuck in traffic, we will be flying down the wide forestry roads in the Ashley Forest just North of Christchurch and Rangiora. This weekend is the 3rd round of the Brian Green properties New Zealand rally championship, Currently we are sitting only 23 points away from the lead of the championship it is still our main goal this year to challenge and win the overall title.

© GEOFF RIDDER

Since rally Whangaeri there has been plenty of work go into the Subaru, After the event the team was able to identify the small issue that has been plaguing the car this year which had been unfortunately restricting overall straight line speed. The engine that we had been preparing to use for the second half of the championship was sent up from Nelson to give the car complete fresh unit before heading back to the dyno to get some expert tuning to iron out any remaining underlaying issues from the first two events of the season. Traditionally the roads used for the event really suit my driving style I always enjoy getting into the forestry it really feels like home grass roots style driving for me and after spending years in the bush while completing my apprenticeship its a natural driving surface for me. The infamous Grey Road is used in parts several times over the event this is a beast of a road the requires so much commitment its 3 cars wide and its super fast your tipping the car into the corners very early and holding it in long power slides to maximise cornering speed. 

This year is the return of night stages approximately 1/4 of the events distance will be covered in the darkness, its an amazing feeling to run in the night both driver and co driver are so in sync that you get such a rush driving as fast as your lights will allow you to go. It will be the first time that we have done significant km in the dark and the first time our current car has been run in full darkness so there has been a little bit of relearning on setting up lights correctly to help spotting cornering apexes.

Its great to have the confidence of the event organisers this year after our slower than normal start to the championship. We are seeded 3rd on the road for the event. This will be an advantage to us we will have a slight line on the road from those in front of us during the day stages and if at night there is any hanging dust issues we shouldn’t be too badly effected being higher up the running order. Over the events distance I’m going to target building on the impressive cornering and handling characteristic that the Subaru has and really push hard towards out right stage wins by the end of the days stages. The night stages are a real solid objective with the bonus points on offer so much time can be gained and lost in the dark, it will be a real positive reward for the team with so much hard work going into the development of the car.