The halfway point of the Canterbury Motorsport InterClub Series was one of Autosport Club’s most popular gravel sprints. The Auchenflower Rd Gravel Sprint returned on 7 August giving drivers 8.7km of fast flowing, public road with a twisty section in the middle to test their skills.
There are three bridges, some fast straights and several high-speed blind brows to provide a real challenge for drivers and cars. This is one of the longer local sprints and is a favourite for many of the local drivers who have driven it many times over the years. Situated just south of Sheffield, Canterbury, it’s a wicked road with one of the fastest sections in the Autosport Sprint Series.
This year the Auchenflower Road Gravel Sprint was a tale of two halves. The first run had been contested in good weather but then a bitterly cold front came through for the 54 remaining competitors who made it to the second part of the day.
Mike Tall had come to grief on the first run after taking flight and clearing the stream to crash into the far bank where he did a half decent impression of a tumble dryer, coming to rest in on his side rather than choosing to crash directly into a bridge. After the team ensured the car was off the track and having Mike checked out, everyone got on with the rest of the day in full control mode.
Matt Summerfield (Mitsubishi Mirage AP4) (main photo) won the day with David Quantock (Skoda Fabia AP4) nipping at his heals keeping him honest, with Blair Logan (Mitsubishi Lance Evo 4) the first non-AP4 car home.
Deane Buist led home the Class 3 field in the Toyota Celica with Steven Thompson’s (Ford Escort Mk2) first run was enough to keep him ahead of Markus Van Klink (Mazda RX8) in third.
The winner of Class 2, Karl Celeste (Toyota Levin) headed a very tight field with only four-seconds covering the top three with Ian Warren (Nissan Pulsar) in second and David Birkett (Toyota Corolla) a mere 0.3 sec further back in third.
Peter Murch (Toyota Starlet) won an all Toyota Class 1 field with Jay Ritchie (Toyota Starlet) in 2ndsecond and Grant Goile (Toyota Starlet) coming third.
The Ashburton Car Club hauled in 50 team points to reach 247 after four rounds to open a 9-point lead over the Canterbury Car Club with both Autosport and Ratec Clubs’ in striking distance. The amazing thing this year is the entry lists have reached the point where there is a waiting list to compete.
There are four rounds remaining so there’s a lot of points still up for grabs. The Ruapuna Dual Car Sprint on September 25th (Daylight Saving Day) is next.
It’s all on!
Points after 4/8 Rounds:
1/ Ashburton Car Club 247
2/ Canterbury Car Club 238
3/ Ratec Motorsport Club 149
4/ Autosport Club 161
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