Motorsport: Hunter develops real taste for tarmac

After thoroughly enjoying the Targa Rotorua event over the weekend local man Bill Hunter is keen to do more tarmac rallies.

Before the popular annual event, which attracted almost 90 entries from across the country and was won by Auckland pair Glenn Inkster and Spencer Winn, Hunter had only ever competed on gravel.

But now he has completed his first Targa he says he would like to do more tarmac-only rallies.

"I've got the taste all right and I'm definitely going to give these tarmac events a bit of a nudge, if for no other reason than to see what the car is capable of."

The car he is referring to is the left-hand-drive ex Rod Millen Series 1 Mazda RX7 which he bought and rebuilt.

Because it was a first for both of them, Hunter says he and co-driver Julie Wallace purposefully took it easy, though a sign of what the pair are capable of came on Hunter's "home" stage at Hamurana where they were fourth quickest in their class.

Before that they had been slowed by brake problems after an axle change but bar a couple of spins the rest of the event was trouble-free, the pair eventually finishing 43rd overall and 17th in class - not bad for a first effort.

"Our aim was to finish the event and that's exactly what we did," said Hunter. "It was my first event in 14 years, my first time on tarmac, my first time racing a left-hand-drive car, and it was Julie's first ever time in the co-driver's seat. So we're very happy with the result."

In stark contrast, the other Rotorua competitor, 2010 New Zealand Rally Champion Dean Sumner, was left ruing what might have been after a relatively minor accident at the start of the penultimate stage on Saturday afternoon put he and new co-driver Malcolm Peden out of the event after they had just regained the lead.

"I've sort of got mixed feelings actually. It was great to be leading the event but with the pace we were running at comes an element of risk. The tyres must have gone cold waiting at the start because when we got to the first tight corner after the start, the back of the car broke traction and we hit a bank which spun us around and broke a suspension arm."

Having finished second overall on his debut in 2009, Sumner was keen to go one better this year and was disappointed that the damage to the car was too great to continue. And he is undecided about his future on tarmac.

"Right now, my focus is back on the Rally Extreme (gravel) Series. I had to miss the second round of that in the Hawke's Bay last weekend and the next round is on July 14."