West, Mason head to head again

MASTERTON rally ace Richard Mason tackles his old adversary Chris West this weekend in the first round of this year's national rally championship at Dunedin.
Mason will be driving the Subaru Impreza WRX STi previously campaigned by the 2001 Junior Champion Cameron Bates. West will be behind the wheel of a new car, a 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STI.
West and Mason finished within seconds of each other in rally after rally last year, Mason and co-driver Sara Randall taking the title despite missing the first round. Mason may miss another round or two this year, as he and Randall are contracted to compete in the Chinese national championship as well.
They were on their way to a podium place among a field dotted with internationals when their late-model Subaru let them down in the first Chinese round.
Mason, at 28 New Zealand's youngest national rally champion in almost 30 years, said the weather over the next few days will have a major bearing on the condition of the roads, especially after last week's flooding.
"If things stay wet, the surface is likely to cut up quickly and make traction and grip a big issue for the following cars. And any more unsettled weather will quite possibly reduce the risk of the fog and ice we have found in recent years, so being number one on the road could turn out to be a blessing in disguise."
The Richard Mason Motorsport Team is now a two-car effort, with multi NZRC round winner Todd Bawden at the wheel of the old car.
"After a season away from the sport Todd made contact late last year and the idea of running as a two car team was conceived. In these days of spiraling costs you just have to get the maximum out of your resources, and under the current service rules it makes sense for our team to run more than one car," said Mason.
Bawden says he is really looking forward to getting behind the wheel again. "After driving Mitsis for eight years and now switching makes to Subaru, I'm sure it's going to be an interesting learning curve," said the 2003 Otago Rally winner. "It's also five years since I last drove a Group N car, so the opening day down south is definitely going to be quite a fact-finding exercise."
It all starts this Friday night (May 5) with the Special Stadium Stage at the Forbury Park Trotting Track from 5.45pm and the rally proper begins at 9.25am on Saturday with the Whare Flat stage just five minutes from central Dunedin. Activity is based around the Service Park at Waihola for five more high-speed special stages before the annual blast around the wharf area beside the old Anzac Avenue overbridge in the middle of the city at 3.30pm. Sunday's action sees another five stages near Waihola with the grand finale being another charge around the Forbury Stadium Stage from 1.30pm