Rocks playing havoc with the bottom of Hamish Auret's LS7 Corvette proved a real set back for the Whanganui driver in the second round of the Porter Group 4x4 National Trial near Waihi Beach on Saturday.
Taking the maximum 100 penalty points on the ninth hazard and then an 80
on the 23rd during the morning session left Auret chasing after Aucklander Scott Biggs, as well as other drivers like Whakatane's Silven Schicker, Thames Valley's Dave McKie, and Wairarapa's Kevin Galbraith.
Auret would improve slightly in the afternoon session with a marginally lower penalty score than McKie and Galbraith, but Biggs and especially Schicker were in another world - Schicker not even cracking 100 penalty points - to finish well clear.
"The first two hazards we had a lot of damage, over an hour in the pits," Auret said.
"We landed on a couple of big rocks, broke a drive shaft...and a whole lot of other stuff.
