Kerikeri resident Neil Simpson will feature amongst a large field of first-time rally drivers lining up to take on the 2012 edition of Rally of the North from Paihia on Saturday.
Simpson who will race against 15 other drivers in the B Class (for vehicles 1400-1600cc) said his car was finally fully ready to race with the last of the signwriting completed on Friday.
He described his 1985 Toyota Corolla as"Pretty standard" but said it had been pimped a little by installing a limited slip diff and coil-over shocks. Despite being a rally driving enthusiast for years, Simpson only joined the Northland Car Club two years ago where he drove in multiple club hillclimb events.
"Doing a hill-climb only gives you a few short runs, in a rally it's all day so there is heaps more seat time. Even when you aren't doing special stages, there is making sure you turn up on time and navigation."
Of the choice to make the step up to a full day rally, the 45-year-old builder said changing circumstances had finally given him an opportunity to try his hand at something he had always wanted to do.
"Kids have grown up, had some spare cash," said Simpson adding his wife had also been very supportive of the venture. While co driver Allister Driver from Okaihau has previous rally experience, Simpson's not totally inexperienced himself, having pit-crewed for Kingsley Thompson's Team Dilusi in past NZRC events.
There were still a few pre-event nerves still a week out from the event, but he laughed when it was suggested being one of very few local drivers in the event he was thus carrying the hopes of the Far North with him.
"I've been nervous, now I'm getting excited." As for his odds? "I'll be just happy to finish. It's going to be a really big day and there'll be a high attrition rate ... It's really more about finding a pace you are fully comfortable with."
Another Far North driver entering the Rally of the North was Kaitaia's Jay Sharp who, with co-driver Jason Tepene, will contest the E class in a Subaru WRX 4WD.
Sharp admitted to indecision over participating in the annual race before finally completing the repairs to his car - caused in a spectacular and notorious wipeout during Rally Whangarei earlier this year - on Tuesday allowed him to book a place at the last minute.
There was, however, disappointing news for supporters of Team Dilusi after Kerikeri-bred hell pilot Kingsley Thompson recently announced he had reluctantly decided not to compete some months ago.
"We were going to and just decided not to sadly. We have the car for sale as we are looking to build a new one for next year and have a couple of prospective buyers and I know what would happen if I took her out for 'one last skid' ha ha, Murphy would come and bite me!"
Titles on line
Rally of the North completes both the five-leg Rally Extreme and shorter Top Half series. A number of overall titles in both championships will be decided on Saturday so it won't be unreasonable to expect drivers to push the envelope in order to make their presence worthwhile at the event prizegiving at the Copthorne in Waitangi from 8pm on Saturday.
Organisers noted this year's rally features a strong entry of 64 cars - compared with barely 40 last year - and also a wide variety ranging across 45 years of rallying from Cameron Walbran's 1963 MG B through to Stewart Taylor's Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10. On the other end of the scale was three-time New Zealand rally champion and 1999 Rally of the North winner, Neil Allport with a freshly built 1972 Ford Escort RS1600 (which featured on the back page of Tuesday's Age). Rally of the North will be based in Paihia and covers four stages in the morning to the south-west before returning to the host town for a lunch-time service. A further four stages to the north of Paihia round out the afternoon before returning to the event finish, back in Paihia, after more than 10 hours on the road for the drivers taking part.
The rally cars leave the Paihia public car park on Williams Street (by the fire station) from 7am in seeded order procession at 1 minute intervals to arrive and begin the first special stage near Towai from 7.38am. More than 180km over eight 'flat-out' special stages will be raced across 17 back roads, with a comparatively low 260km of touring stages before the event finishes near Puketi Forest at 7.40pm. The estimated return time to Paihia was around 5.30pm.