Jonty Brenssell and co-driver Terri Taylor (Toyota Starlet) have won the fourth round of the 2023 Mainland Rally Championship (MRC) at the one- day Rally Nelson on Saturday. Second home was Deane Buist/Karl Celeste (Toyota Corolla) followed by Hayden Shakespeare/Chris Sunman (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo). The MRC round has seen a shake-up in a number of Classes while Josh Marston still maintains the overall lead ahead of Dylan Thomson.
“We’re pretty wrapped with that result,” commented Brenssell. “It was nice to have a ‘clean’ day. It was quite unexpected, but we will take it. We had some fun on some great roads which really suited our Starlet.”
Brenssell and Taylor were quickest in the opening three Special Stages setting up a margin back to second placed Buist/ Celeste. Buist and Brenssell exchanged Stage wins over SS4 and 5 with Shakespeare taking the final two (SS 6 & 7).
“Deane (Buist) made a comeback later on but we had enough time up our sleeve,” said Brensell. “We were surprised to see Dylan (Thomson) on the side of the road and felt sorry for him. We’ve had a couple of retirements this season which has ‘cooked’ our series so Saturday’s result was a bonus.”
Dylan Thomson and co-driver Richard Fairhall (Ford Fiesta ST150 2.3) were favourites for the round and with the absence of a number of MRC teams due to NZ Rally Championship commitments, make the most of the opportunity to overtake overall leader Josh Marston. However, a mechanical in Special Stage 2 saw the pairing retire out of the event.
The rivalry in Class A (2WD 0-1300cc) saw Mike Matheson/Gordon Legge (Toyota Vitz) finished ahead of class leader Pat Norris/Geoff Parr (Toyota Yaris) reducing the deficit to just four points.
In Class B (2WD 1301-1600cc), leader David Birkett (Toyota Levin) retired from the event and has dropped to second equal with Dean Schoder (Toyota Trueno) while Kerry Sloan (Toyota Starlet) moves ahead of the two by six-points.
Dylan Thomson (Ford Fiesta R4) still has a 12-point lead in Class C (2WD 1601cc and over) over Deane Buist (Toyota Corolla).
Dave Ollis (Subaru WRX Sti) picked up maximum points in Class D (4WD) and moves into third while Josh Marston continues to hold first, ten points ahead of Caleb MacDonald.
The rivalry continued between Mike Barltrop (Subaru Impreza) and Hayden Shakespeare (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3) in Class E (Pre 1996 Classic 4WD). Shakespeare won the opening Otago Rally round back in April while Baltrop fought back to win the next two at Rally Canterbury and South Canterbury. On Saturday, Bartrop showed that he was initially fast however, his rival was quickest in the final two Special Stages and finished first in Class and third MRC runner, extending his lead to 16-points.
Ally Mackay has taken over the lead of the Historic Class F now with a 14-point lead over Tim McIver. Brian Green (Ford Escort) was second in Class and moves into fifth.
Tom Milliken’s (Subaru H6) consistent performance over the season in Class H (Subaru H6) now sees him with a handy eight-point lead over James Macdonald with Nick Marston eight-points further back.
RDL Performance, Brita Safety, Palmside NZ and Winmax Brakes have put up cash prizes for each Class winner at the end of the Mainland Rally Championship season. $500, $250 and $100 for first, second and third respectively for each class as well as trophies for all classes and overall for both driver and co- driver.
The round was part of Rally Nelson which was won by NZRC competitor Ben Hunt/Tony Rawstorn (Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) with Zeal Jones/Matt Sayers (Subaru Impreza) second and Richard Bateman/Jordyn Smith (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) third. Brenssell/Taylor came home fourth overall.
With two rounds to complete in the 2023 Mainland Rally Championship, class and overall titles for both drivers and co-drivers are still up for grabs. Rally Lawrence takes place on 4 November 2023 with the final round, Westland Rally three weeks later on the 25 November.
Overall Points 2023 Mainland Rally Championship after 4/6 rounds (Top 15)
1/ Josh Marston 76
2/ Dylan Thomson 72
3/ Robbie Stokes 62
4/ Caleb MacDonald 54
4/ Ally Mackay 54
6/ Deane Buist 50
7/ Marcus van Klink 48
8/ James Macdonald 46
9/ Mike Baltrop 44
10/ Tim McIver 41
11/ Nick Marston 38
12= Paul Cross 37
12= Kerry Sloan 37
12= Brian Green 37
15/ Tom Milliken 35
Results – Rally Nelson
Position, Driver/co-driver, Car, Class, Class Position
1/ Jonty Brenssell/Terri Taylor, Toyota Starlet, B 1
2/ Deane Buist/Karl Celeste, Toyota Corolla, C 1
3/ Hayden Shakespeare/Chris Sunman, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, E 1
4/ Dean Schroder/Della Schroder, Toyota Trueno, B 2
5/ Mike Barltrop/Joanne King, Subaru Impreza, E 2
6/ Dave Ollis/Gemma Thomas, Subaru WRX Sti, D 1
7/ Ally MacKay/Mikko Johnston, Ford Escort Mk1, F 1
8/ Kerry Sloan/Henry Raymond, Toyota,Starlet, B 3
9/ Tom Milliken/Chris Cunningham, Subaru Impreza H6, H6 1
10/ Brendon Wadsworth/Shane Reynolds, Toyota Starlet, B 4
11/ Brian Green Fleur/Pedersen, Ford Escort, F 2
12/ Mike Matheson/Gordon Legge, Toyota Vitz, A 1
13/ Pat Norris/Geoff Parr, Toyota Yaris, A 2
dnf Dylan Thomson/Richard Fairhall, Ford Fiesta ST150 2.3, C
dnf David Owen/Mitzielene Machida, Ford Escort RS, F
dnf David Birkett/Jack Birkett, Toyota Levin, B
Comments