Pitstop: Rally duo win scholarships to race in production car champs

Top local rally drivers Richard Mason and Chris West have been awarded scholarships to compete in the New Zealand round of the world production car championship in November.

The production championship, which concludes at Rally New Zealand from November 16 to 19, is contested in Group N cars similar to those in the New Zealand national championship. Mason has recently retained the title he won in 2005, while West won in 2004. Both drive Subarus.

This is the first time New Zealand championship contenders have been able to compete officially in the world production category.

Rally organisers have also awarded an entry to the rally to young Whangarei driver Kirsty Nelson, who this year won her class at the Rotorua Rally.

Rally New Zealand, sponsored by Propecia, will be based at Mystery Creek near Hamilton and will use special stages around the district. Frenchman Sebastien Loeb will be back in a Citroen, seeking to repeat his victory last year on the way to the world rally championship.

Triple for Higgins

Toyota Racing Series competitor Andrew Higgins made a successful transition back to his roots, wrapping up the Formula Ford winter series at Manfeild last weekend. The North Shore driver took three round wins from the four-round series.

King of the mud

Darryll King was monarch of the mud at the second round of the national motocross championships in Hawkes Bay. The veteran made light of the conditions to win both the races in the 250cc and 500cc classes. Youngest brother Damien won the two 125cc races.

Donington downer

Hamilton-born driver Chris van der Drift dominated the Donington round of the Formula Renault Eurocup championship, by taking pole position and winning both races - only to be penalised 25s for an allegedly dangerous move at the start of the first race, which relegated him to 10th.

Despite this penalty - which his team is appealing against - the Kiwi still leads the Eurocup championship with four races to run. Sixteen-year-old Kiwi Brendon Hartley qualified 26th but was knocked out of the first race after a collision. He finished 12th in the second.

Smith wins place

Pukekohe teenager Sam Smith is included in the four-man New Zealand team for the Oceania motorcycle road racing championship at Phillip Island this weekend. Smith will ride a Yamaha alongside Palmerston North riders Craig Shirriffs (Suzuki) and Dennis Charlett (Honda) and New Plymouth's Ross King (Yamaha). The 600cc contests are support races for the Australian Grand Prix.

Alfa bonus

Organisers of the Ice Breaker classic car meeting at Pukekohe this weekend have an unbeatable offer: Arrive in an Alfa Romeo and they'll let you in free.

If that isn't enough to drag in the spectators there will be quickfire racing for single-seaters, muscle cars, Super GTs, BMWs - and Alfas.

NZ trio in Adelaide

New Zealand drivers Mark Porter, Kayne Scott and Chris Pither will be back in action in the second-level V8 Supercar championship at Mallala, near Adelaide, this weekend.

Porter is third in the championship, Scott is seventh and Pither is 15th.