This Saturday sees the focus for many drivers and teams on the Royce Watson Memorial Hanmer Rally, the sixth round of the Stadium Finance Mainland Rally Series which takes place in North Canterbury. Having competed in the Mahindra Gold Rush Rally of Coromandel last weekend, it has been a quick turnaround given the high attrition rate at the fourth round of the 2017 Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship.
Amongst the most significant retirements were Matt and Nicole Summerfield (accident) and Rhys Gardner/Alex Ramsay (suspension damage), the teams that had entered the championship first and second in points standings. Rangiora’s Matt Summerfield has now dropped down to second in the NZRC drivers’ championship behind Hawkeswood with Nelson’s Ben Hunt moving up to third after finishing third in the rally.
A capacity field of 81 entrants will take part in the Hanmer Rally, the sixth round of the Mainland Rally Series. Matt Summerfield, winner of the event for the last three consecutive years, having crashed his NZRC Subaru at Coromandel, will now be competing in a much older Subaru model (pictured).
Five drivers are currently fighting at the top of the Mainland points table. With a fourth consecutive podium finish at the previous round, the Catlins Coast Rally, Deane Buist (Ford Escort) maintains his lead in the series points with 107 points. Buist is just 12 points ahead of Jeff Judd (Subaru) with Summerfield a further four points behind, followed by David Quantock (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7) on 80 and Richard Bateman on 71 points.
The rally will be run in the Hanmer Forest Estate and comprises 75 kms of special stages and 75 kms of touring. The first car gets underway at 10.30am and finishes back in Hanmer at 4.30pm
Seeding List – Top 15
1 Matt Summerfield Michael Crawley Subaru Impreza D
2 Jeff Judd Grant Marra Subaru Impreza WRX D
3 Dylan Turner Sarah Brennan audi S3 AP4 D
4 Michael Tall Matt Richards Mitsubishi Mirage D
5 Josh Marston Mark Leonard Holden Barina AP4 D
6 Carter Strang Stewart Robbie Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6 D
7 Deane Buist Karl Celeste Ford Escort C
8 David Quantock Emma Quantock Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8 D
9 Job Quantock Alan Steel Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 7 D
10 Garet Thomas Gemma Thomas Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 2 E
11 Matt Penrose Tom Penrose Subaru Impreza WRX D
12 Keith Anderson Samantha Gray Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8 D
13 Matt Wright Ben Trevelyan Subaru Impreza WRX E
14 Rodney Lang Glenn Goldring Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 4 D
15 Tony Gosling Blair Read Subaru Legacy RS D
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