It's rally close, and gutting, for Thompson

Kerikeri driver Kingsley Thompson missed winning Saturday's Rally of the North by just seven seconds after a tight battle with Aucklander Patrick Malley.
Taking an early lead, Thompson won the opening stage in Hukerenui and was looking good, but Hawera's Glen Smith moved to the front of the pack as the rally headed north through the Hokianga towards Kaitaia.
Smith has not had much luck in Northland of late, after failing to finish at the Rally of Whangarei in both 2008 and 2009, with his misfortune remaining unchanged for Saturday's rally.
Suffering a problem with his alternator, Smith was late to the start of special stage four and awarded a whopping three minute 20 seconds penalty, which handed the rally lead to Neil Marshall with Kingsley Thompson behind him.
By the end of stage six, Patrick Malley had assumed the lead, holding it by just three seconds ahead of the Northlander.
At the rally end he crossed the finish, leading Thompson by seven seconds with Glen Smith claiming third overall with some stunning stage times making up a handful of positions lost after his penalty.
"We had some issues in the morning and had to drive out of one stage with a puncture, which cost us some time. It came down to the last stage, and we gave it a shot but couldn't quite match Patrick's pace," Thompson said.
Thompson competed his rookie season in the New Zealand Rally Championship this year, taking fifth overall in his Mitsubishi
Evo 10.
Other drivers from the north included Brendon Oakden, who was on a solid charge looking for points to win the Top Half Series, where he was holding second equal place with Neil Marshall - both chasing Craig Stevens.
Unfortunately, Oakden retired halfway through the rally in stage five with suspension damage and, ironically, so did Marshall, leaving Stevens to claim this year's title, although he too withdrew at the end of stage two.
"I'm gutted, that's for sure. I had it there for the taking. Not sure what happened. We took a right hander and the car just went straight ahead into a bank," Oakden said.
Another Northlander Ben Jagger, fresh from winning the New Zealand Rally Championship two-wheel drive class last month, was enjoying a quick rally when disaster struck.
"We were going pretty quick down a road with some crests, getting a little bit of air, and then went over the last one at about 140, and went about a car height in the air and came down hard on the nose," he said.
Jagger was running 11th overall and easily first place in the two-wheel drive class when the incident ended his rally, 17km into stage five.
As a precautionary measure, Jagger retired the car when he spotted an oil leak, rather than causing any further damage.
"I reckon these are the best roads in New Zealand and I think my favourite stage was probably the one where we made the jump," he laughed.
Other local drivers who finished the event were Scott Ogle in 12th, Doug Adnitt in 18th and Bruce Henty in 28th.