Former national historic champion John Silcock cut a proud figure at last month’s Rally Canterbury with both sons, Harri and Josh, standing out in their respective classes.
Silcock, who has been a championship regular over the years, has moved into team ownership over the past couple of years as the next generation becomes his focus.
“I’m getting quite a kick out of helping them,” the Silcock senior said.
“We did do a budget about taking three cars to Otago, but it was just astronomical.
“I’m not done as a driver but happy to take a back seat to them. And I think I’d be a distant third if we were all in there together.”
Josh Silcock was desperately unlucky not to win the Rally Challenge 2WD class at Canterbury, coming second to Rory Lawn after a late spin at the Ruapuna finale.
While the performance had people within the sport talking and raving about his speed – he was seventh overall coming down Mt Grey Rd – Josh was understandably disappointed with the outcome.
“Josh is one of those kids who wants to be the best at everything he does,” Silcock said.
“He was North Canterbury tennis champ, Harri, and he and I were one and two in the national grass karting competitions.
“Anything he does, he wants to be best at and good on him for that.
“He is only in his second full season, so I don’t want to put too much pressure on him. The trouble he has is that he puts too much pressure on himself.
“He was devastated at Ruapuna, and he has watched the in-car so many times, wondering what he could do differently. He just needs to be Josh for a bit.”
Harri Silcock has also impressed this season – perhaps flying under the radar in the highly competitive Rally Challenge 4WD class.
“That is the most competitive class in the country – the step up to the Mitsubishi from the Starlet – he just wants to learn how to drive it,” Silcock explained.
“There were a few little handling issues – he hasn’t driven it before, and he wasn’t sure what it should be doing. It was a bit tail-happy, so there were a few trust issues.
“He will do a top 10 stage time, but then there might be a little bit of inconsistency there as well at this stage.”
The proud dad is stoked that his boys have followed him into the sport, but it was important to him that they do it for the right reasons.
“I’ve talked to them about doing it because they want to do it rather than just because I used to. They are doing it for themselves – Harri would like to be successful in New Zealand and give that a bit of a nudge.
“Josh has ideas of going as far as he can with it, and you can’t take that away from him.
“There is a certain person in Cromwell who dreamed big, and it worked out quite well for him.”
Header Image: Geoff Ridder
