The 2023 Lone Star Rally of Canterbury is set to go on Sunday 4 June, King’s Birthday weekend. The event organised by the Autosport Club will be the second round of the 2023 Mainland Rally Championship and will be run predominantly on public North Canterbury roads.
As in previous years there will be a ceremonial start outside Lone Star Café and Bar Manchester Street at 5:00pm on Saturday (3 June) offering a great opportunity for the public to get up and close to the drivers and their cars.
The rally properly starts outside Joe’s Garage, Rangiora at 8:00 am Sunday morning with crews heading off to the best forest road in New Zealand, namely Mt Grey Road. 14 km of wide-open arterial forest road from the main forest gate to the Crampton’s Bush gate has to be any rally drivers best dream come true. From there the drivers head to a service and re-fuel in Amberley.
This is followed by the 28 km coastal Happy Valley/Blythe Road stage coming out for a service at Cheviot. Then a short tour to the 4 km Sinclair Rd stage which, although short, is a real driver’s stage, followed by a new stage, Mendip Hills at 9 km. Not used for many years, it is a great stage with a mixture of technical and open public roads.
There is no let up for the crews who then tour to stage 5, Leamington/Kaiwara Roads, for 29 km of some of the best flowing gravel roads in the country. Crews then break to re-energise with a service and re-fuel in Hawarden. Make the most of it because it’s straight in to the 22 km of Heathstock/Ram Paddock Roads; a real combination of open and technical gravel country roads immediately followed by the short challenging 6 km of Onepunga Rd. There is a chance for a top up of cars and crew on Douglas Rd before the final stage – Mt Grey Road from top to bottom!
If you thought going up Mt Grey Road was great, wait till you experience the downhill run – it’s like something out of Finland especially towards the end. Just be warned, “Noters Corner” is where the crowd will be and for good reason!
From the Ashley Forest main gate it’s a chance to catch your breath with the drive back to the Lone Star Café and Bar Manchester Street for the ceremonial finish and a well-earned refreshment at approximately 5:00 pm.
After around 130 km of special stages and 270 km of touring, dinner will be available at Lone Star Café and Bar followed by prize giving around 8:00pm subject to confirmation of results.
Further information as it develops will be available on Facebook, just check out the Autosport, Mainland Rally Championship and Rallyflow pages.
See you there!
Main Photo- 2022 Rally Canterbury winner, Josh Marston Holden Barina AP$
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