Ari Pettigrew returns to the New Zealand Rally Championship this weekend riding a high after a stunning performance at the Ashley Forest Rally Sprint last weekend.
Pettigrew posted the fastest ever 2WD time in the history of the iconic event, something he is incredibly proud of.
“As a Rangiora local, I grew up attending Ashley Forest Rallysprint, and it was also my first ever gravel event that I competed in,” Pettigrew explained.
“So, to now hold the record for the fastest ever 2WD is pretty special.”
The impressive youngster turned heads with blistering speed in the Porsche at the opening three rounds of the championship before skipping the last round at Traffic Safe NZ Rally Hawke’s Bay last month.
He heads to Whangarei with a new challenge on roads that probably won’t suit the Porsche as much as he enjoyed the South Island events.
“I haven’t competed here for a few years, and a lot of the stages are new to me,” Pettigrew said.
“It will be interesting to see how our pace is on these tighter roads, but they are also some of my favourites, so I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
A good finish should see him spring back to the top of the standings in Open 2WD and potentially the overall 2WD standings as well, with each competitor dropping their worst result from the first five events.
“Our focus hasn’t changed for this weekend, the main thing for us is to go out there and have fun enjoy the awesome roads in a very special car,” he said.
“We have made a lot of changes to the car since Southland, which seemed to be working well at Ashley Forest.
“We haven’t quite managed a stage win yet. It would be pretty cool to be able to tick that box before the season ends.”
Header Image: Geoff Ridder
