Ashburton Car Club draws first blood

The annual Ratec Motorsport Weekend Autocross kicked off the 2023 Canterbury Interclub Series with four local clubs fighting for first honours.

The rear of Karl Celeste’s yellow Mini (Autosport) was all the other 20 competitors saw of him as he pulled out a winning 22-second gap on the rest of the field by days end. The battle for runner up was much closer as Canterbury Car Club members John Rathgen (Pulsar GTi-R) and Adrian Harris (Moke) finished second and third respectively, less than a second apart.

***John Rathgen (Pulsar GTi-R) Canterbury in second***

Ashburton’s best finisher was Alan Groves in fourth in his WRX and Daniel Males backing him up with a fifth in his Min’. Ratec’s Allan Coker (GR Yaris) was sixth.

The squirt of rain around lunchtime saw some competitors benefit as the conditions were certainly slower as the damp levels rose.

***Adrian Harris (Moke) Canterbury finished in third***

The club with the most members in attendance was Ashburton proving once again that numbers are what really matters. 12-year-old Lachlan Storey coming home in 20th in his Legacy B4 earned his club 6 points to lift them into first place on the day. Well done!

Next Round – Rakaia Zig Zag with Autosport on Sunday April 23rd.