Failed gearbox forces champions from race

Rallying

Defending champions Richard and Sara Mason of Masterton looked to have the third round of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship, the Go Pro Daybreaker Rally of Manawatu, at their mercy going into the final special stage, only for disaster to strike and force them to retire.

It was then the gearbox on the Masons' Subaru STI failed, leaving them stranded and out of contention.

The incident happened as the Masterton duo were holding a comfortable lead in an event held to the north of Feilding.

It was the worst of bad luck as victory would have had them challenging Geraldine's Hayden Paddon for the championship lead. Paddon did not compete on Saturday but is still top of the table on 88 points, 20 more than Ben Hunt of Nelson, who won the Manawatu rally, with the Masons third six points further back.

Of the 69 cars that started the Daybreaker Rally only 53 made it back to the finish with the opening stage, in particular, taking a heavy toll.

Aside from having to carve through thickening gravel typical of the Manawatu roads, reasons for attrition varied from Alex Kelsey's shearing of wheel studs 12km into that first stage, the electrical failure suffered by Emma Gilmour in her new generation Suzuki Swift on the penultimate stage, and, of course, the gearbox problems which led to the Masons' withdrawal with the finishing line virtually in sight.

Hunt was understandably delighted with his first placing. "It's pretty awesome all right, especially coming here to an event we have never done before," he said.

"They are nice, tight and twisty roads, and probably suit our Group N specification better than the others."