The 2022 Mainland Rally Championship (MRC) roars back into action this weekend with the Nelson One-Day Tarmac Rally in the Tasman district. The first day of the 2022 Targa South Island event also doubles as the fifth round of the MRC season and will see current overall and Class C leader, Deane Buist (Toyota Trueno) fighting with second placed Marcus van Klink (Mazda RX8 26B).
Buist has performed consistently over the four completed rounds this season campaigning first a Toyota Trueno as well as a Ford Fiesta, finishing every round so far and sits seven-points ahead of Marcus van Klink. Van Klink missed Rally Canterbury in June but has finished higher than Buist in the other three events.
Also attending the Targa rally and with several rivals absent, Sean Haggarty has the opportunity to jump up the MRC leaderboard, currently sitting in 11th 28-points behind Buist. With a maximum of 30-points available per round Haggarty will first want to finish and secondly, to finish first.
Autotech Services, RDL Performance and Brita Safety have put up cash prizes for each Class winner at the end of the Mainland Rally Championship season. $500, $250 and $100 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively for each class as well as trophies for all classes and overall, for both driver and co- driver. Vehicles are divided up into seven different classes according to engine size, year of manufacturer and two or four-wheel drive.
Leader of Class A (2WD 0-1300cc), Jay Ritchie is absent from the round which should allow Pat Norris (Toyota Vitz) to close the 26-point gap between them.
William Hawes (Toyota Corolla) will have the opportunity to increase his current lead in Class B (2WD 1301-1600cc) while Jared Parker (Toyota Levin) has the opportunity to move up from fifth overall in the category.
Buist and van Klink will also fight over the lead in Class C (2WD 1601cc and over) with an eight-point gap between them. Also in Class C, Peter Bowden (Ford Escort) and Andrew Sim (BMW 316i) both have the opportunity to move up the category leader board.
Sean Haggarty (Subaru WRX STi) is likely to take over the lead in Class D (4WD 1601cc and over), currently sitting in third just three points behind Josh Marston. While Marston hasn’t entered the event, his father, Leigh Marston (Subaru WRX STi) will be at the start line providing competitive competition in the class.
Nigel Ede (Subaru Legacy) already has a 20-point lead in Class E (Pre 1996 Classic 4WD) and has the opportunity to extend this while Eric Clark (Subaru STi) could move up to second.
Leader of the Historic Class F&G, Tim McIver (Ford Escort), is one of two drivers competing in the category. Third placed David Owens (Ford Escort) is just nine-points behind McIver and well within striking distance.
Just three-points separates the top three competitors in Class H6. Nick Marston (Subaru H6) and Tom Mililiken (Subaru H6) have both entered and it may be a matter of who is first home takes the lead heading into the final two MRC rounds. Fourth placed James MacDonald (Subaru H6), who has won the Class in the last two rounds, is also competing and potentially could move closer to leading the category.
The Nelson One-Day Tarmac Rally takes place in the district of a key MRC sponsor, Think Water Tasman Bay and comprises approximately 134km over seven Special Stages with 179kms of touring, all on public tarmac roads with the first car starting from Annesbrook Event Centre in Stoke at approximately 9am. The day concludes when the first car returns to the I-Site in Wallace Street, Motueka.
Entries – Nelson One-Day Tarmac Rally (#, Driver 1/Co-Driver, Class, Car)
83 Pat Norris/Kevin Cooke, A Toyota Vitz
75 William Hawes/Jason Dwyer, B Toyota Corolla
86 Jared Parker/Kyle Shears, B Toyota Levin
80 James Martyn/Josh Blair, B Toyota Levin
71 Deane Buist/James Cowles, C Toyota Corolla Trueno
81 Robert McCallum/Nic McCallum, C Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
76 Carol Liston/Lloyd Ives, C Honda Civic
87 Andrew Sim/Brayden Sim, BMW 316i
89 Jeremy Wayne/Marc Keen, C Vauxhall Chevette
70 Peter Bowden/Roy Large, C Ford Escort
787 Marcus van Klink/Matt Richards, C Mazda RX8 26B
74 Sean Haggarty/Bella Haggarty, D Subaru WRX STI
84 Dave Ollis/Gemma Thomas D Subaru WRX STi
78 Leigh Marston/T.B.C., D Subaru WRX STi
88 John Ward/Hamish Roy, D Subaru Impreza WRX STI
72 Eric Clark/Tracy Spark, E Subaru WRX STi
73 Nigel Ede/Mark Grimmer, E Subaru Legacy
85 David Owen/Mitzielene Machida, G Ford Escort RS
778 Tim McIver/Brent Wilson G Ford Escort BDA 2WD
77 James MacDonald/Daniel Johnson, H Subaru H6
79 Nick Marston/Peter Calvert, H Subaru Impreza H6
82 Tom Milliken/Chris Cunningham, H Subaru Impreza H6
Overall Points after 4/7 rounds (Top 15)
1/ Deane Buist 71
2/ Marcus van Klink 64
3/ Josh Marston 62
4/ Ray Casey 61
5/ Matt Summerfield 58
6/ Michael Tall 54
7/ Regan Ross 53
8/ John Giltrap 51
9/ Ray Wilson 46
10/ Tim McIver 45
11/ Sean Haggarty 43
12/ Jeff Judd 42
13/ Nick Marston 41
14/ James Macdonald 35
15/ Robbie Stokes 34
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