Motorsport: New look, same focus

While a lot has changed for Sloan Cox ahead of a new season behind the wheel, one thing will never change - his love for travelling sideways.

For the first season in a long time, Cox will be racing without his sister and co-driver Tarryn Cox, who has taken a break from racing to focus on her new job at the Rotorua Hospital.

His Mitsubishi Evo 10 has also had some changes with more power, less weight and a new paint job which features pink stripes.

"We have kept the matt black colour but have added pink this year. I love it, it makes a statement," Cox said. "It's my favourite colour, pink."

The Rotorua rally driver's new co-driver for this season is Sarah Coatsworth, a friend of the Cox family and an experienced rally navigator.

The duo will be taking part in their first major rally of the year, the International Rally of Whangarei, starting tomorrow.

"It is probably one of my favourite events of the year," Cox said.

The 21-year-old said the roads were great to race on in Whangarei and he was hoping to record a top finish this weekend after some bad luck in the past.

"I was doing well at the event last year, placing in the top three for each stage, but [then] our engine failed and caught fire."

They were forced to retire and that has made him even more motivated to do well this time round.

"I want to win some stages and finish on the podium. I believe it is possible and I'll give it my best shot," he said.

"I'm really looking forward to seeing how we match up with some of the other top-seeded drivers with their new cars."

The International Rally of Whangarei covers 288km across 16 separate stages - eight tomorrow and eight on Sunday.

The event doubles as the second round of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship and the first round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship, an international rally tour. However, Cox willnot be following either of the two tours this season after switching to the relatively new Rally Xtreme Challenge Series.

The Cox Motorsport team have already had a second place at the first Rally Xtreme event last month. The Cox Motorsport team is a family-based rally group, with both Cox parents involved. Sloan has been competing in rallies since he was 15.