Gore rally driver Derek Ayson contested the last two Barry Robinson Memorial Wyndham Rallys in a Ford Fiesta Proto owned by good mate David Kirk while his latest rally car, an Opel Manta, was being built. This year, he will get to drive the Opel when the rally takes place on Saturday, 2 August.
Ayson purchased the Opel from overseas, and the car arrived in the country just one day before the country went into lockdown in 2020.
“I had to sell my old Ford Escort first, and took a while to build up the Opel hence the lengthy wait to see it gracing the rally roads, but I have to say Brent Tiney has done a fantastic job on the body and Mike Verdoner on the engine which is putting out some impressive figures,” says Derek.
While he waited, Ayson contested the two previous Wyndham events in Kirk’s Fiesta Proto to remember Robinson, as Barry farmed near Derek and was his inspiration to give rallying a go.
“The first year, 2023, the car felt really twitchy and we found out the centre diff was not working and the rear springs were too heavy, but still managed to finish 4th outright, considering I hadn’t driven a 4WD in a rally for over 10 years. Last year on Stage 1, we lost brakes, the diff broke out of its housing, and we had a misfire, so unfortunately, we retired early.”
The Opel is now ready, and earlier this year, it was off to Nelson for an initial run in a rally sprint. It was a long way to go, but it was an outing to check the car out.
“The car encountered overheating problems and a sticking throttle, but we had enough of a drive to find the problems.”
Back home for the local Popotunoa Rallysprint, and Derek says, “The car went good”. However, its first full rally at Otago saw a few teething problems, including an oil leak, and after a hose came loose, the car almost caught alight.
Now the Opel comes to Wyndham for the first time.
“The car is surprisingly easy to drive,” says Derek.
“It is reasonably forgiving and predictable – it is longer and wider than the Escort and is quite stable. Top speed so far is around 193km/h but should go close to 200km/h, plus it stops good.
“It even has slightly more power than the Escort. Stephen Gill from Winton purchased the Escort a few years ago and is driving it extremely well, which is great to see!
“We are looking for a good, solid run at Wyndham, and if we get that, I will be happy. It is a new car, and parts of the rally are new territory.”
Gavin McDermott has been with Derek for eight years as co-driver.
“That is slightly longer than when Dougie was my navigator,” (Derek’s long-time co-driver, Andrew Graves), who now mixes his rallying with driving and co-driving in the National Championship with some very impressive results.
“Gav only started using notes at Otago this year and is doing a good job with them, though Wyndham is a blind event, so there are no notes. Gav was actually brought up near Tokanui, so I might let him drive a couple of those stages as he might be faster,” Derek laughs.
While he is lining up in a new car for the Wyndham event, Ayson is one of a group of high-achieving rally drivers out of the Eastern Southland Car Club.
“I joined the club back in the 90s and started out competing at autocrosses in a Toyota Corolla, and it has been great to represent the club over the years at different levels.
“We managed to win both the Gore Rally in 2005 and the Catlins Rally in 2006 when I had an EVO 4, and I had a few third placings in the club’s major rallies in the Ford Escort.
“A couple of career highlights were winning the NZ 2WD Championship in the Escort in 2004 and the NZ Rally Xtreme Championship in an EVO 4 in 2006.
“We also secured victory in the Rally of Southland and Canterbury Rally in 2006 and three International Otago Classic Rallies in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
“A pretty special result was the outright win in the Escort on the 2016 NZ Silver Fern Rally, which was run over 7 days covering 1000km of Special Stages, competing against drivers from all over the world.”
Ayson is also one of several competitors in the field giving back by way of sponsorship, as he supports the Derek Ayson PGG Real Estate Special Stage 3 of the event.
The Barry Robinson Memorial Wyndham Rally will be centred on the township of Wyndham, 45 kilometres east of Invercargill and 25km south of Gore.
It will start at the MLT Three Rivers Hotel in Redan Street, Wyndham at 9.00am on Saturday, 2 August, from where competitors will tackle five Special Stages before the event ends back at the MLT Three Rivers Hotel in Wyndham with the first car due at 3.30pm.
Support for the event comes from Traffic Management Services and Yuasa Batteries, with additional support from the Southland District Council, Gore District Council, and the landowners along the rally route.
Header Image: Aaron Wishart (Wishart Media)
