It will be very interesting to see how we actually measure up against some of the lightweight rocket ships we have heard have been built and tested during the off season.Richard Mason, driver
Four-time champion Richard Mason of Masterton finished second when the opening round of the 2013 NewZealand Rally Championship - the 807.28km Drivesouth Rally of Otago - was held on Saturday and Sunday.
Mason, and co-driver, wife Sara, were 4min 25s down on the winning combination of Hayden Paddon from Geraldine and John Kennard of Blenheim.
Paddon, 25, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9, accrued maximum championship points by winning both days and the event's final test, the 10.94km Whare Flat "power stage" with the five bonus points achieved also putting $500 cash in the pocket.
Only 23 of the original 31 championship entries made it through to the second day of action where Paddon picked up seven of the stages and Mason one.
Mason had always expected Paddon to set the benchmark and in his pre-race comments said while the rules had been relaxed to allow more flexibility in how they set up their cars, he and his BNT Mason Motorsport team had opted for a conservative approach with reliability as a priority, which had been a winning formula over the past two years.
"It will be very interesting to see how we actually measure up against some of the lightweight rocket ships we have heard have been built and tested during the off season," Mason said.
The 2013 Otago Rally also differed significantly from last year by venturing much further north of host city Dunedin - as far as Oamaru - and used classic rally roads such as Dansey's Pass.
