Motorsport: Gilmour desperate to go one better

Emma Gilmour is desperate to end her run of second-place finishes. Photo / Hawke's Bay Today

Driver Emma Gilmour is desperate to put her run of seconds behind her when she competes in the Rally of New Zealand this week.

Gilmour has finished as the second-best New Zealander in the event twice before, including the last time it was run in 2008.

She was also runner-up in the Asia-Pacific championship last year, the best performance by a woman in international rallying last year, and was again second last month in the Rally of Otago, the first round of the national championship.

"Second, second, and second again - I've got to say it's starting to get to me," Gilmour said.

"A number of people are telling me just to hang in there and the win will come. Let's hope they are right, and that this year's Rally New Zealand is when everything will click into place."

Rally NZ's base has been moved from Hamilton to Auckland this year and there will be a ceremonial start in the Viaduct basin on Thursday night.

Competition proper will run from Friday to Sunday, with the special stages taking in roads from Northland to Waikato.

Gilmour heads into the event, which is a round of the World Rally Championship, in a confident frame of mind, having proven the pace of her new Vantage Team Subaru Impreza WRX STI in Otago, where she led briefly and finished just 15s behind winner Dean Sumner.

She and co-driver Glenn Macneall struck a couple of bits of misfortune, including getting held up by cows on one stage and having brake problems on another.

"But our car was quick and should be even quicker now that we have made some further improvements to the brakes."

Between now and Friday, Gilmour and Macneall will work on perfecting their paces notes.

While most of the stages have been used before, there are some changes, including a new combination of roads for the Te Akau stages in west Waikato and the new super special stages at Hampton Downs and in the Auckland Domain.

Gilmour, who will be making her seventh appearance in Rally NZ, will be part of a Production WRC field that includes defending national champion Hayden Paddon.

Gilmour and compatriot Richard Mason, a former national champion, have also been awarded wildcard entries into the PWRC class, allowing to compete on even terms against international competitors.

"While my ambitions for 2010 are local - taking the first Kiwi award in Rally NZ and securing as many national championship points as possible - nothing beats the excitement of international competition," she said.

"A top result on the national components of the rally should translate into a top PWRC finish as well."

- NZPA