The 2024 Mainland Rally Championship (MRC) titles will be decided by the end of this weekend with the final two rounds running consecutively this Saturday and Sunday, 23-24 November 2024, in North Canterbury and West Coast regions. The Rally of North Canterbury and the Westland Clubman’s Rally also double as the first two days of the seven-day 2024 Silver Fern Rally which has attracted 60 local and overseas entries, totalling approximately 100 cars tackling the weekend’s events.
Robbie Stokes (Ford Escort) currently leads the overall MRC points table, 17-points ahead of Deane Buist (Ford Escort). Also, in the mix this weekend will be Marcus van Klink (Mazda RX7 Group B). All three drivers are also competing in the full Silver Fern Rally.
The Rally of North Canterbury comprises approximately 120kms of special stages and 280kms of touring with the first car leaving from Riccarton Racecourse, Racecourse Road, Christchurch at approximately 8.30am on Saturday. The first of eight Special Stages, Brodies Rd, gets underway at 9:10am with lunch in Cheviot and four stages in the afternoon.
The Westland Clubman’s Rally comprises approximately 80kms of Special Stages and 140kms of touring with the first car underway from the Kumara Domain, Highway 73, Kumara at approximately 2.00pm on Sunday 24 November, returning to the final control at Greymouth High School Shakespeare Street, Greymouth at approximately 6pm.
The battle for seven different MRC Class titles continues with the best five of six rounds counting. In Class A (0-1300cc), Pat Norris (Toyota Yaris) and rival Mike Matheson (Toyota Vitz) are still head-to-head after four rounds and competing this weekend. Mattheson currently holds an 11-point lead over Norris.
Harri Silcock (Toyota Starlet) will be looking to beat home Jack Stokes (Ford Fiesta) who leads Class B (1301-1600cc) by 14-points.
Deane Buist’s has a 14-point lead over Marcus van Klink in Class C (1601cc and over) while in Class D (4WD), Caleb MacDonald may well take the title with rival Robbie Stokes moving into a 2WD Class for the final two rounds.
Nigel Edie (Subaru Legacy RS) and Shane McKenzie (Mitsubishi Galant) will continue their season long rivalry in Class E (Pre 2000 4WD) with just nine-points separating the two.
Two-points separate Stephen Gill (Ford Escort FJ20) and Ally Mackay (Ford Escort Mk1) in Class F (Classic 2WD) while three points separate Amy Keighley (Subaru) and Tom Milliken (Subaru) in Class H.
