The 2014 season sees plenty of changes for the Campbell Rallysport team as they step up to the four-wheel drive class in the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship driven by VINZ.
An off-season move out of the Ford Fiesta R2 and into a group N specification Mitsubishi Evo 9 sees Phil Campbell and Venita Fabbro move into the top class of the NZRC for the first time in their careers after narrowly missing out on the two-wheel drive championship in 2013.
Also new for the 2014 season is the team’s new naming rights sponsor, The Roofing Store. The Roofing store is a leading supplier of roofing with stores from Auckland to Christchurch.
Although this weekend’s International Rally of Whangarei marks the first rally outing in the car for Campbell and Fabbro, Campbell has experienced success in the off-season competing in the New Zealand Hillclimb championship, where he recorded a string of competitive results despite running the car in group N trim against unrestricted competition. Despite the encouraging results, Campbell is aiming just to gain experience and complete all the stages at the season opener.
“This is a really exciting opportunity for us to take on the best teams in the country, although to start with it will be a matter of learning the car,” says Campbell. “We really have to thank The Roofing Store for coming on board with us this season and we really hope to deliver them the results they deserve.”
The VINZ International Rally of Whangarei gets underway with a ceremonial start on Friday 11 April, with competitive action starting the following day on roads new to the event north of Whangarei. After six stages, teams will then complete two passes of the Pohe Island Super Special Stage under darkness. Day two sees a further six stages before the ceremonial finish at 3pm.
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