Christchurch’s Dylan Thomson heads to the third round of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship, the Lone Star rally Canterbury, looking to record a finish for the first time on what will be his third attempt at the rally.
Having grown up in Waiuku, the 2018 event represents the first time that the Christchurch-based event will be his home rally. The 23-year old hopes that will change his fortunes, having hit a rock in 2016 and going over the time limit after spending time off the road last year.
High-speed competition on forestry roads are nothing new to Thomson, who got his start in motorsport through the Waiuku Dirt Track club, before turning to national championship rallying in 2016.
This year, Thomson and co-driver Amy Hudson have been the class of the Motorsport New Zealand Two-wheel drive field, having taken round victories at the two opening rounds of the series, while Thomson has also recorded maximum points in his defence of the junior title.
“Unfortunately Canterbury has really been a bit of a weak link for us in the past, we enjoy forestry rallying and it’s something both of us have done plenty of, but it really hasn’t gone our way. I think just getting to the finish will be a big victory for this one,” says Thomson. “We’ll still be giving it a good crack though, we’re in a really strong position with the two-wheel drive and junior championships and we’d love to keep that up.”
The Lone Star Rally Canterbury kicks off with a ceremonial start outside Lone Star in Christchurch’s Manchester Street from 4pm on Saturday. The following day, teams will take on 10 special stages in the Ashley and Okuku Forests before returning to Manchester Street for the finish from 7pm.
Comments