Motorsport: Top field lines up for honours in Otago

Dean Sumner. Photo / The Daily Post

The opening round of the New Zealand Rally Championship kicks up some dust this weekend at the Rally of Otago.

Yesterday, the 29 competitors completed the opening three stages of the rally.

Fans will be able to watch one of the best fields assembled in years battle it out over 15 stages with the likes of defending champion Dean Sumner, former champions Haddon Paddon, Richard Mason and Chris West and last year's series runner-up Emma Gilmour vying for honours.

Sumner is in the Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX that took him to his Gold Star rally championship title, and says he isn't too sure who to keep an eye on.

"Hayden's back from Portugal and in good form, as will be some of the others, but I'm concentrating on the whole championship," he said.

"I'm not sure if he's doing the whole championship, so if he's in front I'm not going to be chasing him down hard."

Paddon starts the Otago event in a Subaru STI, the first time the two-time champion has competed in a different make on New Zealand roads. He's also on a bit of a roll having finished third in last year's Production World Rally Championships and more recently winning the PWRC Rally de Portugal round by a record seven and a half minutes.

"We saw the car for the first time last Friday and have been flat out getting it ready for this weekend," said Paddon.

Former champions and Otago rally winners Richard and Sara Mason, in their Subaru, have battled to overturn the dominance of Mitsubishi drivers in recent years.

Their last title win was in 2006.

"It's been a while, but I feel it could my time again," said Mason.

"The points system has changed and if you don't finish the rally it can cause problems later on. It'll be strange not to push 100 per cent all the time in a rally."

Third seed Gilmour said: "Last year was our first year in the car and it's got better. I love the Otago rally and it's my home event and the roads are great."

West has won the Rally Of Otago four times and was dominating in last year's event until disaster struck a few kilometres from the finish.

"It's good, we're really looking forward to it," said West. "We finished off last year heading in the right direction with the car. Hayden's going to be the one to watch but we have the championship to focus on. At the end of the day, though, we need to be in the window early on."

The NZRC has four championship categories: premier class for Group N four-wheel-drive (4WD) and Super 2000 cars, two-wheel-drive (2WD) class, open 4WD class and the historic class, followed by the remainder of the rally field.

Today, teams go south to Lawrence for five gravel stages, the longest of which is the challenging 45km test through Berwick Forest. The day finishes with the traditional 2.5 km tarmac blast around Dunedin's industrial area.

Tomorrow's six-stage schedule includes some of the event's most popular stages - Kuri Bush, McIntosh Road, Waipori Gorge, and a repeat of the 45 km Berwick stage.

Teams then return to Dunedin for the 3.55pm ceremonial finish at Dunedin railway station.

2011 NZRC Series
* Rally Otago, April 8-10
* Rally New Zealand, Hampton Downs, May 7-8
* Rally Wairarapa, May 28-29
* International Rally of Whangarei, July 15-17
* Rally Hawkes Bay, August 20-21.

www.nzrallychampionship.co.nz