TV personality driving in Energywise Rally

26 August 2004

London-Sydney winner, TV personality driving in Energywise Rally

Three-time New Zealand Rally Champion Joe McAndrew, who led a trio of Honda Integra Type Rs to victory in the 2004 London-Sydney Marathon, will be driving another Integra Type R in November, but with a completely different objective in mind. McAndrew will be aiming to squeeze the maximum kilometres out of every precious litre of fuel in the high-performance Honda as he competes in the 2004 EnergyWise Rally over a challenging indirect route from Auckland to Wellington and back.

He will be joined in the Honda team by TV3 sports presenter and car enthusiast Shaun Summerfield, who will be challenging the field in a Honda Accord Euro. Summerfield achieved the absolute lowest fuel consumption in the 2002 event in a Honda Insight hybrid but couldn’t claim a prize because the Insight wasn’t available for general sale.

Honda will be chasing outright victory this year with a Civic Hybrid driven by prominent Taranaki motoring journalist Rob Maetzig. Honda has thrown down the gauntlet to other hybrid cars as well as diesels to prove which is the most fuel-efficient car sold in New Zealand, and Maetzig will have the eyes of the nation on him as he negotiates the route, the toughest part of which traverses his home province.

Most economical conventional petrol-powered car in the 2002 event was the Honda Jazz CVT (automatic), driven by Paul Berridge, who will attempt to repeat the performance this year in an identical car.

Rules for the 2004 EnergyWise Rally require two people in each car. Rob Maetzig will be accompanied by his wife Sue, and Paul Berridge will share the driving with fellow Honda staffer Graham Price, also a 2002 class-winner. Co-drivers for Joe McAndrew and Shaun Summerfield have yet to be announced.

The 2004 EnergyWise Rally will start from the Auckland Showgrounds on Tuesday November 2, finishing back in Auckland on Friday November 5.

ENDS