Rally: Strong turnout for first Fordell Gravel Sprint since 2017

Action from the Fordell Gravel Sprint Rally on Saturday. Photos / Lewis Gardner

Around 24 drivers went skidding at full throttle at the Fordell Gravel Sprint out at Kaitoke on Saturday.

The course was 5.5km of gravel racing, with a short section of sealed pavement at the end of the course on Matarawa Valley Rd.

It was the first Wanganui Car Club event for the year and the first time they have run the Gravel Sprint since 2017.

The event also formed Round 2 of the Engine Room Sprint Series, which is a six round competition held in the Central region.

Drivers registered a practice run and then had three official passes to get the fastest time to claim best overall or win one of the four car classes contested on the day.

"The road really good, held up perfectly," said organiser Bryce Hackett.

"The [Sprint] series has been going for a few years, and we're back in it. The last time we were in it was the Gravel Sprint.

"Twenty-three [cars] was a consistent turnout for the series, the numbers in gravel have grown a little."

Dannevirke's Daniel Feck in his FTO ultimately proved the quickest, with his final run being the only dash to break the 2m 50s mark, getting across the line in 2m 49.62s.

On Facebook, where he loaded up cellphone camera footage of his run, Feck said it had been a good day out.

"I underestimated the competition going into it and got a good dose of reality from Peter and Mason Grimmer, with William [Menzies] close too.

"Had to work hard to get the win over them all.

"Lots of flat out crests that were a good work out for the memory."

Feck raced in the four-car D Class, while Peter Grimmer won the six-car E Class and came second overall with his final run of 2m 52.39s.

Also using the same Mazda 323, Grimmer's son Mason had a 2m 54.61s time for the Taupo racer to come second in E Class behind his father and third overall.

Another Dannevirke driver, Menzies finished fourth overall and second in D Class, setting a 2m 54.94s time in his Evo 6.

The largest group was the eight-car C Class, which was won by up-and-coming talent Jackson Clendon in his recently purchased Ford Fiesta, as his 2m 59.15s time was enough for sixth overall.

Not everyone had a great day on the loose road, as New Plymouth's Scott Harland ended up with a pebble getting stuck in the shifter of his Leyland Mini about a quarter of the way through the second run.

"Jam it in third gear but somehow still went faster again. So that was the day done," Harland said on Facebook.

Next round of the Sprint Series is in Shannon in a few weeks, to be followed by Taihape, Tararua and then possibly another Wanganui Car Club-hosted event in July.