Motorsport: Stratford team win third place in national competition

Mike and Helen Cameron competed in the MotorSport NZ National Rally Championship this year. Photo / Alyssa Smith

Mike and Helen Cameron’s rally team, Team Cameron, have navigated their way to a podium finish in this year’s MotorSport NZ National Rally Championship.

Their third place position was a real win for the team, says Helen, after “an eventful season” packed with bad weather and accidents.

“We were meant to compete in six rounds. However, with Cyclone Gabrielle causing damage to the East Coast, both Rally Coromandel and Rally Hawke’s Bay were cancelled.”

The bad weather also impacted their trip to Otago for the April rally.

“Our car, L1L EVO, didn’t make it across the Cook Strait with our crew. We still flew down and volunteered our services on both days and will compete there next year.”

The next round was in Whangārei in May, and came with an unplanned trip - to the panel beater, after a crash - or as Helen terms it, “an offroad excursion”.

“We started 50th on the road and after a major offroad excursion on day two, we managed to limp to the finish line at 25th overall and third in our class. Our car had front and rear damage, so we had to take our first trip to the panel beaters in three years.”

She says the South Canterbury rally in the middle of June also came with a panel beater visit.

“We ended up doing one lap short and were classed as a did not finish. We headed back to the panel beater after we slid into a ditch due to icy road conditions.”

Helen says the team’s efforts at the Feilding Day Breaker rally in September ‘boosted’ them up the ranks.

“We finished 58th overall and third in the historic class. This result boosted us to third in the historic class of the championship.”

It was at the Bay of Plenty rally in October that the team earned their overall podium finish.

“The rally started in Whakatāne and finished at Bay Park at Mt Maunganui. It was a mixed day of surfaces with both gravel and tarmac. We got to the end with our first win of the season. This resulted in enough points to gain third overall in the 2023 MotorSport NZ National Rally Historic Challenge Trophy.”