Opotiki rally driver Michael Young makes his debut drive in the International Rally of Queensland this weekend.
Young, 19, is the only New Zealander competing in the Junior Cup category of the highly-regarded Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) - a championship that late Kiwi rally legend Possum Bourne won three times. After the opening round, the Rally of Whangarei, he is leading the Junior Cup with 37 points ahead of closest rival Malaysian Kenneth Koh, with 26 points.
The Junior Cup was introduced last year and is open to drivers aged 28 years or younger driving currently homologated two-wheel-drive cars with a maximum engine capacity of 1600cc. It covers four APRC rounds - New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia and Japan - with competitors required to enter at least two rounds to qualify for points.
Young is focused on finishing the 231km of competitive stages which venture north and inland from Caloundra across a mix of twisty rural and more open forestry roads.
"My main goal definitely is to finish. Our fastest rival and last year's junior championship, Japanese driver Akira Bamba, didn't finish in Whangarei so hopefully we can stay in front of Kenneth who's coming second," says Young.
"I'm pretty sure I should have the pace to beat him. So the idea is to add to our points in Queensland and then on to the last two events in Malaysia and Japan. The championship is definitely our focus and I'm not worrying about stage wins or event wins."
Young's rallying career is barely a year old - his first event was the non-World Rally Championship edition of Rally New Zealand last May. Since then the horticulture packhouse team leader and keen surfer has competed in three events in Malaysia, one in Japan and last year's Whangarei rally. That meant this year's Rally of Whangarei marked the first time Young had contested the same event twice.
"Yes, that was a good experience doing Whangarei for the second time and knowing a lot more about what to expect and what the roads are like. Also having in-car footage from last year meant I could watch it before the event and get more familiar with the stages again."
Tackling the Queensland event for the first time doesn't faze Young. His Tasmanian co-driver Daniel Willson has done the event many times in his 10-plus years of competitive rallying and Young has been reviewing television coverage of past events. It's a process made easier with access to footage filmed by his father Brian Young, who heads APRC TV which produces the official Asia Pacific rally television coverage.
"I'm expecting a mixture of tight, twisty and quite rough roads, which open out to forest stages. Although I haven't rallied in Australia before, I have played cricket for my school in Caloundra twice before, so it's great to be back here."
The International Rally of Queensland commences with the official start tonight before two full days of action this weekend.