Scene Set For Rally Title Fight

Scene Set For Rally Title Fight

With only one round to go in the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship all of the titles are still up for grabs, meaning that the Trusthouse Racetech Daybreaker Rally Wairarapa will be the scene of a fast and furious fight for the silverware.

Ben Hunt is the favourite to take the overall title, especially considering his top form all season, and his 24 point lead. However Phil Campbell does have a mathematical chance of snatching victory. With a maximum of 30 points up for grabs on this final round, the competitors have to finish to make these points count. So for Campbell the equation is simple. Win the event and hope Hunt doesn’t finish. A tough ask but then again stranger things have happened in motorsport before.

Campbell will equally have to watch his back as he is only 18 points ahead of the next grouping of Lance Williams and Matt Summerfield. Both of these contenders have had a season of ups and downs, but their improvements over the last few rounds has been noticeable and they aren’t to be discounted.

But these two of Williams and Summerfield are in another title fight, to be the Junior Rally Champion. Here Williams leads Summerfield as well, but with a 22 point buffer it would require Williams not to finish to allow Summerfield into the top spot.

For those registered in Category 5 for the Rally Challenge Trophy the fight is even closer. Only 13 points cover the top 4 of Richard Bateman, Tyler Radovan, Darren Galbraith, and Hugh Spence. Rather than hoping for others to fail, each of these competitors will have to drive at 10/10ths, where even the bonus points for the power stage could be the difference between 1st and 2nd.

Surprisingly it is even closer in the fight to be the best Rookie Driver. Richard Bateman and Tyler Radovan are equal on points, with Justin Glavish and Jonathon Walker 3rd equal just 9 points adrift. Don’t worry about the points here, this will be a straight out fight to the end. Whoever is fastest on the day will win the championship, and that could be a simple as a spin, or a wrong tyre choice over this final 160km of competition.

As the NZ Rally Championship builds to an exciting finale, it will be the mighty roads of the Manawatu and the Wairarapa that will provide the testing ground. Combining these areas into a one day event will be a new challenge for these drivers, especially the need to adapt to the contrasting style of roads between the two areas.

The Daybreaker Rally Wairarapa will certainly be a rally event not to miss as the best in the country go head to head for the final battle of the 2015 championship. For more information visit www.rallywairarapa.co.nz

ENDS

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