Motorsport: Masons's three for three

Masterton driver Richard Mason made it a hat-trick of Rally Wairarapa wins yesterday in the third round of the New Zealand Rally Championship. Mason wiped any hint of competition with a clean-sweep of stage victories - pushing his overnight leading margin to a total of two minutes 05 seconds.

The Ford Fiesta of Auckland's Mark Tapper finished seventh overall, overtaking the previous leading two-wheel drive car of Kapiti's Aaron Cook (Honda Jazz), who finished eighth.

With 24 cars finishing the day, the major retirement was the Subaru Impreza of Emma Gilmour, who had gearbox problems.

The fourth round moves to Hawkes Bay on August 3-4.