COT CASE: Engine failure forced defending champion Hamish Auret to ditch round three of the National 4x4 Championships in Opotiki at the weekend.PHOTO/SUPPLIED
COT CASE: Engine failure forced defending champion Hamish Auret to ditch round three of the National 4x4 Championships in Opotiki at the weekend.PHOTO/SUPPLIED
ROUND THREE of the National 4x4 Championship proved a nightmare for defending champion Hamish Auret after engine failure killed any chance of points in Opotiki at the weekend.
The Whanganui racer and his Egmont Club co-driver Paul Barnes had just navigated four hillside hazards when the engine died, cutting allpower to the 7000cc LS7 Corvette motor in the Piritek Wanganui-sponsored truck.
The pair had been sitting in second after the first two rounds behind Scott Biggs from Auckland until the weekend failure.
"It was really disappointing. It was a course that really suited us and we were expecting a solid round," Auret said yesterday.
"We had just completed four hazards when the engine just died. We won't know the problem until we pull the head off this week and have a look. It's definitely an internal problem. Fortunately under the rules you get to drop your worst round, so that's ours. We can't afford any more problems with three rounds to go if we are to retain the title."
Whanganui 4x4 truck builder Dan Cowper won the Opotiki round so now sits level on points with Biggs in the lead with Auret hot on their heels.
"We need to find and fix our problem in time for the next round in Counties in three weeks where we need a clean round. Round five is in Masterton two weeks after Counties," Auret said.
