The brand-new Holden Barina AP4 rally cars have enormous potential according to Penny Homes Holden Rally Team drivers Greg Murphy and Josh Marston. Although neither driver finished this weekend’s International Rally of Whangarei – Murphy due to an off-road excursion and Marston due to a drivebelt issue – they’re upbeat about prospects for the in-development cars.
“There’s no doubt we’re going to sort these cars,” says Christchurch’s Marston. “There is so much potential for these Barinas, it just takes time to develop them.”
The Whangarei rally marked the first time the Penny Homes Holden Rally Team started a rally with both cars, and Murphy was rapt to be lining up alongside Marston for his first tilt at the iconic rally stages around Whangarei.
“That was a great feeling to have both cars at the start,” says Murphy, who missed the opening New Zealand Rally Championship event in Dunedin due to his Supercars commentary commitments. “We’re both understandably disappointed not to finish in Whangarei, especially after the huge amount of work done by our crew to get both cars ready for this event.”
The weather added its challenges to Murphy’s first competition in the Barina AP4. Heavy rain on Saturday morning meant he and co-driver Timaru’s Mark Leonard struggled to see on the first two stages when their windscreen fogged up badly. “Once we had that sorted, we made much bigger improvements on the next two stages. The car was very responsive, we had no technical issues and the MRF tyres provided just what we needed, so I was feeling good, building confidence with every kilometre, and really enjoying the roads and the car’s capabilities. We were going swimmingly in stage seven until we got a bit wide and went off. It was a rookie error, but did enough damage to the radiator to prematurely end our rally. Hugely frustrating and disappointing. A lot of people offered to help us rebuild the car overnight – amazing community of people and support – but without a replacement radiator, we really wanted to fix the car properly back in the RDL Performance workshop.”
On Saturday, Marston’s run was hampered by two punctures and splitting a wheel rim, so he retired temporarily to re-join for the afternoon where he was very pleased to get more kilometres behind the wheel. “Our problem from Otago was sorted and the car was going great, even though the torrential rain meant the wipers couldn’t keep up and fogging was an issue,” Marston says.
Marston successfully completed Sunday’s first two stages, but was out in the third when the car threw a drive-belt. “We’re not sure why and thankfully the engine seems okay. Of course I’m disappointed – we really wanted to finish for our sponsors and our crew who have worked really hard for the last six months. But we can take a number of positives away – we definitely have a better direction with setup, the MRF tyres did a great job, our crew work was good and we know the potential in the Barinas to make awesome rally cars is there.”
June’s Rally Canterbury is the next event for the Penny Homes Holden Rally Team. “That’s about five weeks away, so there’s plenty to do to fix my car and hopefully have time for a test,” says Murphy.
Marston adds: “I’m really looking forward to Canterbury, being my home rally and one I’m more familiar with.”
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