The first stage of Day 6 of the 2024 Silver Fern Rally took the cars on a 12 kilometer stage over Circle Hill, which is to the south of Dunedin.
It was exciting start to the day for the No.11 Porsche which had instruction to turn left over a crest. They went wide and hit the bank which catapulted them into a farmer’s paddock.
As driver Evgeny Kireev recalls, “The speed was right but the corner was wrong and we approached too fast”.
Brian Green and Brianna Little were another casualty on this stage when the Escort Brian was driving also went off the road. Fortunately they were able to continue, however on the next stage the car went off the road again.
As Brianna said, “We came through a ‘Y’ junction, and there was a lip where the grass meets the gravel again, which caused the half-roll. It was a very slow rollover”.
Robert Gough and Jeremy Rogers went on to win both of these stages while the leader James Ford and Neil Shanks have slowed down their pace knowing they have build up a good buffer leading into tomorrow’s final day.
Stage 47 was one of the longest stages of the event days at 43.26 kilometers was downgraded after the bulk of the field had completed due to another offroad incident requiring a medical response to the scene where both driver and co driver are now recovering.
In Stage 48 Dixons Rd/Kuri Bush Philip Kadoorie and Ryan Champion rolled their Lancia Stratos which ended upside down. However, most of the damage may have been superficial and it is said to be back running tomorrow. With the drivers out of the car and it being well off the road the racing continued.
Robbie and Amy Stokes (main photo) won this stage from Nathan Quinn and David Green who have been making steady progress up the field after troubles earlier in the week and now sit in 25th place.
Chris Ramsey and Amy Hudson continue to lead the 2WD Challenge from Dave Strong and Rob Scott in the Honda Jazz with Richard Galley and Claire Buccini holding third position.
Dallis Yates and Alise Inger maintain their advantage at the top of the Time Trials and are on 739 points. The Porsche Cayenne of Timothy James and John Mulrennan sit on 929 points while Dave Brien and Tim Brien have 3664 points.
The 4WD Class which is made up of just two cars is being led by Ben Huband and Corinne Cutler in a Subaru Impreza. Tom Milliken and Chris Cunningham are second , also in A Subaru Impreza.
There will be just three stages run tomorrow with one of these being the mammoth 54 kilometer stage through Rocklands. The Ceremonial Finish will be held at Paddons Paddock in Wanaka.
Prize giving is at Allan Dippie’s Vintage Tractor Museum from 5.30 pm after the finish of the event and everyone is welcome. The address is 135 Ballantyne Road Wanaka.
Overall Results- Day 6, 2WD Historic Trophy
(Pos, Driver 1/Driver 2, Car, Class)
1/ James Ford Neil Shanks Ford/Escort RS C
2/ Robbie Stokes/Amy Stokes Ford/Escort C
3/ Robert Gough/Jeremy Rogers Ford/Escort C
4/ Roger Chilman/Patrick Walsh Ford/Escort C
5/ Kris Rosenberger/Nicola Bleicher, Porsche 911 D
6/ Shane Murland/Kane Seymour Ford Escort C
7/ Charlie Evans/Dayna Kiekebosch, Mazda RX7 D
8/ Bonamy Grimes/Matt Edwards Ford Escort C
9/ Allan Dippie/Paul Coghill Porsche 911 D
10/ Philip Kadoorie/Ryan Champion, Lancia Stratos HF D
11/ Evgeny Kireev/PG Andersson Porsche 911 D
12/ Jeff Judd/Stephane Prevot Ford Escort C
13/ Daniel Alonso/Candido Estevez Ford Escort C
14/ Grant Shand/Rosa Shand Ford Escort C
15/ Andrew Siddall/Gary McElhinney Ford Escort C
16/ Brandon James/Dale Furniss Ford Escort Mk2 C
17/ Richard Spink/Nigel Hutchinson Ford Escort RS 1800 C
18/ Iain Dobson/Harry Stubbs Ford Escort Mk1 C
19/ Ken Macdonald/Daniel Johnson Ford Escort C
20/ Brian Green/Brianna Little Ford Escort C
21/ Scott O’Donnell/Craig Gerken Mazda RX3 D
22/ David Young/Douglas Young Ford Escort Mexico B
23/ Steve Cox/Laurie Brenssell Toyota Starlet KP61 A
24/ Tony Jardine/Duncan Jordan Toyota Corolla AE86 B
25/ Ally Mackay/Keir Beaton Ford Escort Mk1 C
26/ Chris Ford/Daniel Forsyth Ford Escort RS C
27/ Julian Birley/Emyr Hall Talbot Lotus Sunbeam D
28/ Nathan Quinn/David Green Mazda RX2 D
29/ Andy Martin/Matt Hayward Ford Escort C
30/ Keith Stewart/Carol-Ann Perfect Ford Escort RS B
31/ Bruce Farley/Glen Warner Datsun B510 C
32/ Ben Howlett/Nick Vandeveene Chrysler Avenger B
33/ Joshua Hilton/Rodney Vanderpoel Toyota Celica D
34/ Merv Hatcher/James Cowles Mitsubishi Starion C
35/ William Midgley/Geoff Maybank Toyota Corolla 1600 GT B
dnf Deane Buist/Tim McIver Ford Escort Mk2 C
dnf Meirion Evans/Gwynfor Jones Ford Escort C
dnf Marcus van Klink/Toby Marsh Mazda RX7 D
dnf Darryn Snooks/Steuart Snooks Datsun Stanza D
dnf Peter Scharmach/Nikolaus Arkenau Ford Escort C
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