Dylan Thomson emphatically won the 2018 New Zealand Rally Championship FIA 2WD Category 2 title category along with partner and co-driver Amy Hudson.
This season they have stepped up to the 4wd category and have some key goals in mind.
Talkmotorsport caught up with them during the morning service in Oamaru on Day 2, 2019 Rally Otago, to find out how the transition from 2WD to 4WD was going.
Their car, a Subaru WRX Sti, was brand new. Three weeks earlier it was a freshly painted shell. On Wednesday before the start of the rally they had put just 3km on the car as part of its shake-down.
“We initially struggled on the opening day, treating the car a bit like a drag car, flying down the straights then slowing down and driving around the corner but this wasn’t really working as it just pushes,” said Thomson. “So on Sunday I was chucking it in (to the corner) a bit earlier and getting on the gas and using the power to help us around the corner. So definitely more comfortable.
“The boys at Specialised Auto Services have worked tirelessly to get it all together. They (SAS) own the car and we drive it. They came to us with a proposition to run their car. They had everything to build a new and reliable car so we went with them. So far it has been great, no problems
“The aim for Otago was to finish with the rest of the year being for development and maybe a podium or two by the end of the season. The following year we aim to try a bit harder to win the championship.
“We wrote our own notes for this event, that’s the first time for a 4wd (for us) and the second rally for us. That’s worked out really well.
“Amy did the Co-drivers’ Academy and we both did the driver/co-driver training and that has helped us so much. This time we didn’t put too much detail into them as we didn’t really know how the car was going to behave and how fast we would be going so this is to work on.
“The three year goal with this car is to win the national championship and the five year goal is to include a couple of international rallies overseas
“At the moment we decided to go with the Subaru (and not an AP4 car) as it is proven. Everyone knows what to do to the engine and gearboxes and stuff like that and this event has proven that, that you can build a car straight out of the box.
“At this point we don’t have the intention to jump in an AP4, if anything we would look at a R5 because if you go overseas that is all you are going to be in.”
The pair finished the rally 16th overall and 11th in the NZ Rally Championship.
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