Tararua Rd gravelsprint coming up on June 12

The man to beat Christopher Gracie.

Pic 1: BTG070621GS1 Caption: Mason Grimmer in action.

Pic 2: BTG070621GS2 Caption: Up and coming local William Menzies.

Pic 3: BTG070621GS3 Caption: Young Gun Jackson Clendon with co-driver Andrew Brooks.

Pic 4: BTG070621GS4 Caption: The man to beat Christopher Gracie.

By Andrew Brooks

Dannevirke Car Club welcomes back the Central Region Sprint Series in 2021 with round 4 of the series to be held at the iconic Tararua Rd on Saturday, June 12.

Tararua Rd is located about 35km southwest of Dannevirke in Ballance. It has a rich rallying history, previously being a stage used by the New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC) and Daybreaker Rallies in years gone by.

Mason Grimmer in action.

With a bumper field of 45 entries, which was in fact full within hours of opening, it is shaping up to be an intense battle for outright honours and in-class battles in the five different classes.

Four times NZRC champion Bruce Herbert will be in action in his awesome classic turbo EX Lancer along with other NZRC regulars Grant Blackberry (Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX) and young gun Jackson Clendon keen to get their eye in before resuming in the national championship next month.

Dannevirke locals Daniel Feck (four times series champion) and William Menzies will also compete, keen to put in a good performance after a relatively slow start by their high standards to their respective series.

Current series leader Christopher Gracie, in his Honda Civic, will be hoping for another top performance to maintain his lead in the series.

The full capacity field and crews will bring around 200 people to the event and it is an awesome venue to spectate at with multiple vantage points not far from the pit paddock, giving the opportunity to see a vast array of modern, classic and very different rally cars burn up the 4.9km stretch of classic New Zealand gravel road. All spectators are welcome.

There will be food available at the venue, courtesy of the Ballance School and prizegiving will be in the pit paddock following the completion of the event.

Documentation and scrutineering will be from 8am until 9.30am, followed by a driver briefing and observation run for all competitors, with racing getting underway from 10.30am until about 4.30pm.

If you're keen to come out and have a look, further details of the event will be on the Central Region Sprint Series website at crss.co.nz.