Emma Gilmour of Dunedin scored a superb win in her Citroen C3 at the Eastern Southland Car Club Popotunoa Rallysprint in South Otago on Saturday.
Gilmour, already a multiple winner of the event, sealed victory over a high-calibre field with a scorching time on the final run of the second leg, setting a time four seconds better than that of Jack Hawkeswood of Hamilton to give her the win after finishing second to Hawkeswood for the past two years.
Hawkeswood, seeking a hat trick in his Toyota Yaris, had led after Leg 1 and had set the best times in Leg 2 until the final run, when both Gilmour and Jack Stokes of Waikuku went quicker. Gilmour’s best runs on each leg gave her victory, with Hawkeswood second overall and Stokes third.
Andrew Graves of Gore finished fourth in his Mitsubishi EVO 3, winning Class D in the process. Graves was originally scheduled to drive a new GR Toyota Yaris Rally Cup car as part of a testing programme prior to the introduction of an exciting new class for the cars into the NZRC next season. Unfortunately, the car could not be brought south after a ferry breakdown prevented it from crossing the Cook Strait.
Andrew Hawkeswood of Auckland in a Mazda 2 was fifth and second in Class D, while Carter Strang of Wallacetown was sixth and third in Class D in his Mitsubishi EVO 10.
Jake Thomas of Mosgiel in a Toyota Corolla finished a superb seventh overall, which gave him Class B honours and first two-wheel-drive car home, while victory in Class C went to Derek Ayson of Gore in his Opel Manta for the second year in succession. Ayson was eighth overall, with Tony McConachy of Palmerston North (Toyota Starlet) runner-up in the class, one place behind.
Rory Lawn of Christchurch completed the top ten in his Starlet and claimed second in Class B.
Last year’s Class B winner, Ian Warren of Dunedin, was third in the class this year with twelfth place. Other prominent results included the recently crowned National ClubSport Champion, Josh Cooper of Invercargill, in a Ford Escort Mk2, who finished 14th overall and 3rd in Class C.
In Class A, Jak Elliott of Oamaru repeated last year’s success from Kevin Brockie of Dunedin, both competitors in Toyota Vitz’s.
Casualties throughout the day included second seed Robbie Stokes of Waikuku in his Skoda Fabia, who went off the road and failed to finish the opening run in Leg 1 and took no further part in the day. Richie Chadwick of Mosgiel encountered engine problems in his EVO and withdrew after the first run, as did former winner Ari Pettigrew of Ohoka in a Porsche 911, who had charging issues.
Brendon Mitchell of Winton in his Datsun 1600 and Ben Forrest of Auckland in an EVO 4 both completed two runs in Leg 1 before they were forced to withdraw.
The event was the opening round of the Deep South Rallysprint Series, which will be fought over four rounds. Of the drivers registered for the series, Gilmour was classified first, Graves second, and Strang third.
The event saw competitors tackle two legs: the first, a 9.7 km run on public roads, and the second, a 9.6 km run in the opposite direction. Competitors had three official runs on each leg, and results were determined by combining a competitor’s fastest single run on leg 1 with their fastest single run on leg 2.
Eastern Southland Car Club committee member, Roger Laird, said, “We were absolutely delighted with the great entry, and we thank the local residents for their co-operation as we run the event. We are thrilled for Emma (Gilmour), a member of our club, while disappointed Robbie Stokes had his day cut short. We are rapt with the way the event went. It was a big ask with such a big entry list, but a great team effort saw it go very well.”
Header Image: Steve Russell
