The second day of the 2024 Silver Fern Rally covered 111 kilometers of special stages with the first being Auchenflower which was 9.1 kms long.
Mitchells Rd, which was SS13 and repeated again as SS16 had to be shortened by 3 kms due to safety concerns with the cars travelling at speed along the lakeside with steep drop-off’s into the water.
Alistair Mackay (Ford Escort Mk1) made a welcome return in the Escort after the engine failure which sidelined them yesterday during stage five. Their engine had been worked on leading up to the event however the timing belt was installed one tooth out, which eventually detonated the engine. The crew worked during the night to fully rebuild the engine.
Philip Kadoorie’s Lancia Stratos HF continued to have steady pace and sits in 12th place. This event is Kadoorie’s first time on gravel in the car.
“Its mega, the engine is amazing and the balance very different to the Porsche’s,” commented Kadoorie. “It’s a lot more nervous but the turn in is much better. We are building up slowly and going faster today than we did yesterday”
Still leading the field is James Ford’s Escort with a 1min 4second buffer over Deane Buist (Ford Escort Mk2). On Stage 14 Ford had an off which damaged the left front and rear and slowed them for the remainder of the day. Having won five of today’s stages, Marcus van Klink (Mazda RX7) is gaining ground on Buist. However van Klink has a power steering issue with a new part not being able to arrive until Tuesday.
Chris Ramsay and Amy Hudson (Toyota Corolla) continued to lead the 2WD Challenge with a two minute over Karl Celeste and Andrew Oakley in a Toyota Levin. Chris Paddon, Hayden Paddon’s father, is currently running in eighth place. This is Paddon senior’s first time driving a rally car in 21 years.
“Yesterday it was a bit tentative but it was like riding a bike today,” said Paddon. “Being a longer rally allows more time to get used to the car and driving”.
The Mainland Two Day Rally was won by James Worker and Mags Marshall in a Mitsubishi Lancer while Josh Keighley and his co-driver, Ben Trevelyan placed second in the Subaru. Third place was a hard fought battle between Dylan Thomson and Richard Fairhall in the Ford Fiesta, just nudging out David Clearwater and Stephen Lloyd in the Mitsubishi Lancer.
Brian Green’s Ford Escort was one of a few cars that required work done throughout the day. The crew having to change the gearbox.
Brian recounts. “In front of the spectators on top of the hill having just gone around a corner, I went to change from first to second and the it redlined, then in third the same thing”.
The Mazda RX2 of Australia’s Nathan Quinn also had to receive a new oil cooler during the lunchtime service but is still the leading Aussie.
The Westland Clubmans Rally entered the Silver Fern today (Sunday) as round six of the Mainland Championship to compete in the afternoon stages following the lunch break that was held in Kumara Domain. Graham Ferguson and Ross Moody were the overall winners followed by Harri Silcock and Mark Greenwood while Willy Hawes and Jason Dwyer came home third.
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