With the writing on the wall and only two weeks and two events until the end of the 2023 Canterbury Motorsport Interclub Series, Ashburton Car Club (ACC) members showed up in force to cement their emphatic win for the season.
The Ashburton Car Club run Wakanui Gravel Sprint on Le Bretons and Chertsey Roads was a brilliantly organised event that, sadly, only attracted 13 entries (10 from Ashburton and three from Ratec). The “go left first” option was used in the morning for three-attempts and after a sizzling lunch the “go right first” option was used in the afternoon.
The best time on each was added together to get a total best time. A clever idea to be sure!
The Clark brothers stole the show with three other ACC members on their tails giving their Club the maximum 90-points.
At this point Ashburton had an unassailable advantage with no need to attend the last event.
Results – Le Bretons Rd Gravel Sprint/Ashburton Car Club
| Place | Driver | Vehicle | Club | Time | Points |
| 1st | Scott Clark | WRX T 4wd | Ashburton | 4.21:65 | 20 |
| 2nd | Nathan Clark | Forrester T 4wd | Ashburton | 4.25:95 | 19 |
| 3rd | Brad Haskett | Impreza T 4wd | Ashburton | 4.34:52 | 18 |
| 4th | Brad Heads | Gravel Xpress | Ashburton | 4.42:29 | 17 |
| 5th | Greg Cross | Starlet T 2wd | Ashburton | 4.47:62 | 16 |
| 6th | Lance Donald | Audi S3 T 4wd | Ratec MSport | 4.52:21 | 15 |
| 7th | Darrin Box | Impreza T 4wd | Ashburton | 4.57:07 | |
| 8th | Rhys Dunsmuire | Swift 2wd | Ratec MSport | 5.13:04 | 14 |
| 9th | Alan Groves | Charade T 2wd | Ashburton | 5.15:04 | |
| 10th | James Storey | Legacy T RC | Ashburton | 5.21:06 | |
| 11th | Murray Ruston | Starlet 2wd | Ashburton | 5.26:37 | |
| 12th | Allan Coker | Gravel Xpress RC | Ratec MSport | 5.37:41 | 13 |
| 13th | Olly MacKenzie | BMW E30 | Ashburton | DNF |
Points: Ratec Motorsport 42, Ashburton Car Club 90, Canterbury Car Club 0 and Autosport Club 0
Just one week later, Canterbury stepped in for Autosport to organise Round 8, a grass autocross just south of Rangiora on November 25th.
Once again, the newly crowned champions showed up in force with 11 of the 23 competitors coming from south of the Rakaia. But competition was fierce and friendly with only 14 seconds covering the top seven by the end of the day.
Adrian Harris (Moke) won the round with Steve Hall (Yaris GR) second and Daniel Males (Mini) third.
| Place | Driver | Vehicle | Club | Time | Points |
| 1st | Adrian Harris | Moke (fwd) | Canterbury | 424:85 | 20 |
| 2nd | Steve Hall | GR Yaris (4wd) | Canterbury | 425:98 | 19 |
| 3rd | Daniel Males | Mini (fwd) | Ashburton | 426:22 | 18 |
| 4th | Jared Parker | Mini (fwd) | Ashburton | 436:44 | 17 |
| 5th | John Rathgen | GR Yaris (4wd) | Canterbury | 436:78 | 16 |
| 6th | Scott Clark | WRX T (4wd) | Ashburton | 437:88 | 15 |
| 7th | Neil Gardner | Starlet (4wd) | Canterbury | 438:89 | 14 |
| 8th | Alan Groves | Charade T (fwd) | Ashburton | 449:22 | 13 |
| 9th | James Watts | Clio (fwd) | Ashburton | 449:96 | 12 |
| 10th | Murray Ruston | Starlet (rwd) | Ashburton | 451:16 | |
| 11th | Brad Haskett | Impreza T (4wd) | Ashburton | 453:00 | |
| 12th | Brad Heads | Gravel Xpress | Ashburton | 458:60 | |
| 13th | Nathan Burrowes | Legacy (4wd) | Ratec MSport | 458.83 | 11 |
| 14th | Allan Coker | GR Yaris (4wd) | Ratec MSport | 461:26 | 10 |
| 15th | Bryce Mitchell | Barina | Ashburton | 461:51 | |
| 16th | Neil Worthington | MX5 (rwd) | Canterbury | 486.65 | 9 |
| 17th | Kevin Cooke | WRX T (4wd) | Canterbury | 506:97 | |
| 18th | Olly MacKenzie | BMW 318i (rwd) | Ashburton | 518:23 | |
| 19th | Tessa Allen | Civic (fwd) | NM | 523:78 | |
| 20th | Olivia Mitchell | Barina (fwd) | Ashburton | 541:44 | |
| 21st | Jack Barltrop | Impreza (fwd | Ratec MSport | 569:17 | 8 |
| 22nd | Barton Bromley | 944 9rwd) | Canterbury | 580:48 | |
| 23rd | Adam Atacocugu | Impreza (fwd | Ratec MSport | 591:68 | 7 |
Full results are at Autocross – Canterbury Car Club
Final Points after 8 of 8 Rounds:
Ashburton Car Club 572
Canterbury Car Club 441
Ratec Motorsport Club 292
Autosport Club 155
The 2024 Canterbury Interclub Series will begin in earnest with Ratec’s Blast on the Grass in April.
Round 1: 6 April 2024, Ratec MSport, – Rolleston Autocross
Round 2: TBA, Autosport, – Shingle Hillclimb
Round 3: 8 June 2024, Ashburton CC, Seal Dual Car Sprint
Round 4: 22 June 2024, Canterbury CC, – Seal Autocross
There are usually four tarmac events and four loose surface events with the last four rounds still to be calendared.
The winners are decided by the top five placegetters for each club earning points from 20 down to 1.
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