Pit stop: Barratt flies rally flag for women

By BOB PEARCE

Natalie Barratt, one of the few woman drivers making a mark on the world rally circuit, is a surprise entry for Rally New Zealand next month.

The 26-year-old, from Cheshire in north England, has been contesting the World Teams Cup, open to privateers on selected world championship events.

Australia was on her schedule, but Rally New Zealand from September 20 to 23 was not, so organisers were delighted to receive her entry by the first deadline.

Barratt is only 1.6m (5ft 3in), but she is a purple belt in karate and an accomplished windsurfer.

She has an honours degree in art history from Buckingham University, which is close to the Silverstone motor-racing track.

She caught the motorsport bug and has been rallying for six years.

In 1999, she won the Ladies Cup on the Rally of Great Britain and last year was part of the first all-woman crew in 30 years to finish the Arctic Rally.

In this year's Portuguese Rally, she had an accident which destroyed her Mitsubishi Evo 6. Neither she nor her co-driver, Australian Claire Parker, were hurt.

They bounced back in a new Group N car to finish 21st overall in Cyprus, the first foreign all-woman crew to complete that rally.

Barratt is fifth in the Teams Cup series, after finishing 35th overall and fourth cup entrant in the Acropolis Rally.

Among the other Teams Cup drivers entered for New Zealand is former world champion Stig Blomqvist in a Group N Mitsubishi.

Up to 70 entries, including three drivers for all the top world championship teams, have been received. The organisers expect 75 by the deadline.

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New Zealand Formula Ford champion James Cressey has postponed his debut in the Australian Formula Holden championship.

He was to have driven at Oran Park, Sydney, at the weekend.

But a shortage of parts for Graham Watson's car persuaded the Auckland teenager to wait until the next round at Mallala, in South Australia.

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A team of 12 New Zealand youngsters finished fifth in the Australian junior motocross championships at Newry in Victoria.

The only Kiwi race winner was 10-year-old Brad Groombridge from Taupo, who won the first 65cc race in muddy conditions, riding a 60cc machine.

Among the other high scorers overall were Michael Phillips (Rotorua), third in the 15 years 125cc; Mason Wilkie (Masterton), fourth in the 11 years 85cc; and Michael Vining (Taupiri), fifth in the 15 years 125cc.

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The New Zealand contingent had slim pickings in the latest round of the Australian V8 Supercar championship at Oran Park.

In a round dominated by series leader Mark Skaife, the best of the Kiwis was Paul Radisich with ninth overall for the round. He is now ninth in the championship with 1305 points to Skaife's 2006.

Greg Murphy, who had little luck at Oran Park, is seventh in the championship with 1323 points.

Jason Richards, from Auckland's Team Kiwi, had finishes of 20th and 21st to be 28th in the season's standing, still a few points outside the automatic race qualifiers.

The team will change from a VT Holden Commodore to the latest VX style for the next round, the Queensland 500 endurance race which will pair Richards with team-mate Angus Fogg.

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Kawerau rider Tony Rees headed for a world endurance race in Japan boosted by good performances in the Australian superbike championship round at Mallala.

Despite battling the flu, Rees had two fourths and a second placing on his Yamaha R1 to move to third in the standings.

At Suzuka in Japan, Rees will share a GSXR 1000 with Slovenian Igor Jerman in the eight-hour sixth round of the endurance championship.