Motorsport: Campbell keeps crown in his sights

Tauranga's Phil Campbell and Venita Fabbro kick up the dust on their way to second place at the Rally of Coromandel on Saturday. Photo / Greg Henderson Photography

Tauranga rally driver Phil Campbell strengthened his hold on second place in the New Zealand Rally Championship at the weekend and retains a slim chance of clinching the outright 2015 title.

Campbell and co-driver Venita Fabbro drove their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9 to second place in Saturday's Mahindra Rally of Coromandel at Whitianga, finishing 37.8secs behind series leader Ben Hunt (Auckland) who claimed his fourth victory from five rounds.

Mt Maunganui's David Holder (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo8) made it two Motorsport BOP club members on the podium and with new co-driver Jason Farmer made a solid return to series after crashing out of the opening round in April.

Holder claimed one stage win on Saturday and was only 6.1secs behind Campbell at the finish of the rally.

Subaru Impreza drivers Matt Summerfield (Rangiora) and Lance Williams (Te Aroha) completed the top five.

Coromandel's Alex Kelsey in his self-built car and Dunedin's Emma Gilmour (Suzuki Swift Maxi) also produced some front-running stage times but finished well down the order after some lengthy delays with mechanical issues.

Campbell had a clean run through the nine-stage Coromandel event apart from experiencing some inconsistent braking feel.

Subaru Impreza driver Hunt now enjoys a 24 point advantage going into the final round of the series at Wairarapa on October 3, where a rally victory is worth 25 points and an additional five bonus points can be claimed for fastest time in the Power Stage.

It's just enough points to keep Campbell in the picture as the sole remaining threat to Hunt's title hopes while third placed Lance Williams is 18 points behind Campbell.