Brent Redington Retains NZ Clubsport Title

MEDIA RELEASE
9 MARCH 2012

Brent Redington Retains New Zealand Clubsport Championship Title

Brent Redington of Napier is the 2012 Motorsport New Zealand Clubsport Champion after competition took place in Invercargill last weekend.

Held over three disciplines - a Motorkhana, an Autocross and a Bent Sprint - Redington the defending champion - won all three events to take a convincing victory. Paul Walbran of Laingholm in the Waitakere Ranges, west of Auckland, was second overall and Southland Sports Car Club member Brendon Mitchell of Winton third.

After successfully defending the title that he first won last year Redington was elated to take his second championship. "I've been working at it a while," he said after contesting the championship for many years. "To win all three events was great, possibly the first time that has been done". Redington paid tribute to the event. "The whole set up was great - the organisation, the venues. They did such a good job!"

Eastern Southland Car Club member Craig Hewlett of Gore won the Junior Championship after taking maximum points in all three events. Second in the Junior Championship was Callum McKenzie of Karori who shared a Daihatsu Charade with his father Ross while 13-year-old Invercargill competitor Joseph Oliver was third. One of the perks of winning the Junior title for Hewlett is free entry to the Catlins Coast Rally later in the year. The teams championship went to the trio of Adam Fisher, Neil Roots and Peter Collins of the Harbour Capital Car Club.

The championships began with the Motor khana in the Southern Transport Yard in Lower Spey Street in Invercargill on Saturday morning where Redington opened his account, taking the win in his Honda City from Paul Walbran in his MG Midget with his son Cameron using the same car to gain third place. On Saturday afternoon the focus moved to the Autocross at Teretonga Park where Redington again prevailed from Walbran senior with Invercargill driver Nick Hamlin third in a Toyota Corolla FXGT. Another local competitor Robert Ralston was fourth.

The third and final event, the Bent Sprint, took place at the Southern Aggregates Gravel Plant near Oreti Beach on Sunday morning and again it was Redington who scored maximum points. Second was Mitchell in his Nissan Pulsar while Craig Hewlett was third in a Toyota Starlet. Southlanders Noel Atley and Nick Hamlin rounded out the top five. It was a fine effort by Atley, Hamlin and several other Southland Sports Car Club members such as Anthony and Robert Ralston, Ian Richardson and the youngster Oliver who were all having their first competitive outing on gravel.

The championships were well received by competitors with plenty of praise for the way organisers ran the event and the local hospitality. A highlight of the weekend was a visit to the Richardson Truck Museum in Invercargill for the competitors. Eleven entrants had travelled from the North Island for the championships.

Clubsport is a branch of motorsport in which competitors can take part without the need for specialised vehicles or expensive equipment. A Motorkhana requires competitors to negotiate a set course at low speed with penalties applied for errors. Autocross events require competitors to tackle a set course at speed while a Bent Sprint is run on a road course (either gravel or seal) with at least one bend. The National Championship alternates between the North and South Island each year in order to keep the competition affordable for competitors.

ENDS

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