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Rain, rain,
rain. That summed up the weekend up in Paihia for the Rally of the
North.
Our preparations
for the event consisted of a set of new 195/15 Silverstones to help
us stick to the road and a quick fix to our extinguisher. Then we
were ready to chick the car on the trailer and head up North.
We started the
rally 14th on the road and on SS1 we started quite cautiously, due
to the unknown grip on the rain soaked roads.
SS2 was a killer,
6 safety triangles within the first 15km, and most of the top seeds
were out. It was not a good sign, and the roads were treacherous,
with lots of standing water and the clay starting to appear through
the roads in sections. I couldn't get a good rhythm going and we
were a little slow. Unlike a lot of others though, we were still
in the rally.
SS3 we did better
and pulled a bit more time out of the cars around us and SS4 for
was much of the same, and we made a little more time up.
After SS4 we
decided to try the 205/15 Dunlops instead of the 195/15 Silverstones,
and it proved a major mistake, as we lost up to 40secs to our competitors
over SS5, as we didn't have the grip that the Silverstones had given
us in the damp conditions.
It was then
lunch in Paihia and time to fill up the gas tanks of the driver
and co-driver, give the car a quick clean and head out to my favorite
stage, SS6.
SS6 is a fantastic
stage, starting out tight and twisty, then in the middle fast and
flowing with large straights, to a slow and difficult downhill section.
We had our Silverstones back on and we set a 4th quickest time.
We were back in the groove again.
SS7 was canceled
due to Marty Roestenburg and Greg Harnett's big accident. Another
reminder of how dangerous our sport is, of which we were to get
another reminder later in the day.
SS8 finally
set off after being an hour late. At 6km into the stage we passed
another car. No not a rally car, but a local that had come out onto
the road and decided to drive out on the stage. This was very unnerving,
and I hate to think of the consequences should they have decided
to go the other way.
As it turned
out, due to delays during the day with problems due to road closures
and locals (on stage 4 the police actually arrested someone blocking
the stage), stages 9 and 10 were canceled as there wasn't enough
light left to run them.
We finished
the rally in 7th overall, which we were really happy to have achieved,
and with no damage to the car. The rest of the year we probably
won't be competing in any more rallies, as we will be doing some
rallysprints, to concentrate on the cars setup for next years National
Champ's.
Til next time.
Sara & Dylan
Turner
Motorsport
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