A successful fundraising evening has allowed the Stephen Barker Motorsport team to contest not only Rally Nelson but also the Possum Bourne Memorial Rally in their home town of Hamilton.
“Possum was, and still is, a hero of mine and to date I haven’t been able to compete in his memorial rally before, so I am really happy to be able to compete in this year's event,†says driver Stephen Barker.
As well as supporting the memory of New Zealand’s most successful rally driver, the one day event is a chance for Barker, co-driver Brett Lightfoot, and the Rintoul Civil Mitsubishi Evo to do more mileage together before the New Zealand Rally Championship finale in Nelson.
“We need all the experience we can get for Brett and I to really start to gel on the notes. Brett does a great job but every now and then I am failing to commit 100% to high speed corners and for me to understand where the limit of grip level is, I need to do more mileage.†Barker added.
Although the Rintoul Civil Evo runs in complete Group N trim, Barker will run in the clubmans field to take the pressure off for a class result rather than go up against the Group N runners. With a huge entry of 74 cars, Barker is also looking forward to the chance to run against different competitors to those he regularly runs against in the NZRC.
The whole Stephen Barker Motorsport team would like to extend a sincere thanks to all those that donated items to their auction and supported the team's fundraiser.