Campbell extends lead with Canterbury win

Campbell extends lead with Canterbury win

Phil Campbell has extended his lead in the FIA two-wheel drive class of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship after a hard fought victory at round four, Rally Canterbury, over the weekend.

Campbell and co-driver Venita Fabbro were looking to take the top spot for the third time this season but were also aware that beating rival Josh Marston on home turf would be difficult.

But a strong run for the Tauranga pair on the opening stage saw them pull a lead of 20 seconds over Marston.

What followed after that a resumption of the close battle that has raged all season, with Marston momentarily getting back in front of Campbell on the opening loop of stages before Campbell put on a charge in the Letts Construction Ford Fiesta R2 with another three stage wins to open up a lead of almost 15 seconds.

With three stages remaining, the battle was on and Campbell was forced to defend a charge from Marston which he was able to successfully do, albeit by a mere 2.5 seconds in the closest finish of the season, while also taking third place in the ‘power stage’ to gain bonus points.

“It’s fantastic to take the win on Josh’s home turf, it was always going to be tough but it puts us in a really strong position to win the championship,” said Campbell. “It’s a really close fought battle though which I am really enjoying.”

Campbell now leads the FIA 2wd class by 12 points heading into the penultimate round, the 10th anniversary Possum Bourne Memorial Rally on September 7.

ENDS

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