Subaru’s Nurburgring Lap Record

Points on the board will be the top priority for leading Subaru drivers Richard Mason and Emma Gilmour when the Whangarei Rally is held this weekend.

The event is the third round of the national championship and also a round of the Asia Pacific series.

For that reason, Gilmour and Mason find themselves well down the start order at numbers 14 and 16 respectively, behind all the Asia Pacific entrants, even though they are likely to be battling for podium places.

“It’s all about finishing this weekend,” said Mason, who did not score any points at the Rally of New Zealand in early May in his Impreza WRX STI and trails championship leader Dean Sumner by 89 points in ninth place.

And Mason is looking to break a Whangarei hoo-doo! “The last two years up there have made life difficult for us,” he said. “I like the roads but we haven’t got the results. We’re on the back foot right now and need to finish to give ourselves a chance of getting back in the frame.”

Two new stages, which will be used twice on Saturday, add a bit of interest to the mix. “We don’t know what’s around the corner, but other people may have trouble to help us get back in contention.”

Gilmour faces a different challenge as she currently lies second to Sumner, 19 points in arrears.

“We can’t do anything about Dean, so we’re just going to focus on ourselves and get as good a result as possible.”

Since the WRC event, Gilmour and her team have been fine tuning her Impreza WRX STI. “We want to get our pace a bit faster and take some points off Dean.”

Both Mason and Gilmour will be hoping not too much rain falls on the Northland roads this week and will be looking for drier conditions.

If the stages – all of which are being used twice – become muddy, then defending champion Haydon Paddon and Sumner who have been seeded third and seventh respectively, will have a definite advantage.

With eight stages each day, crews will cover 285 kms of competitive motoring, with each day’s results carrying a full complement of national championship points.

Points before Rally Whangarei.-

1, D Sumner (Mitsubishi) Rotorua, 145;
2, E Gilmour (Subaru) Hamilton, 126;
3, C West (Mitsubishi) Christchurch, 113;
4, H Paddon (Mitsubishi) Geraldine, 94;
9, R Mason (Subaru) Masterton, 56.

ENDS