Team Dilusi’s Kingsley Thompson has rewarded his hometown supporters with a top ten finish at last weekend’s NAC International Rally of Whangarei.
Taking 9th overall in the Group N championship, which played host to several overseas drivers, the Kerikeri based pilot also managed to secure 5th place amongst the New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC) Group N contenders.
The weekend began with five-year-old Cole Jakicevich-Roberts from St. Francis Xavier School being chauffeured to school in a rally car on Friday morning after winning the colouring-in competition. Team Dilusi volunteered to participate and of all the rally cars, Cole chose the team’s Evo X.
Heading into the first race day on Saturday, Thompson and co-driver Richard Ellis were clocking consistent times, upping the ante and pushing their Mitsubishi Evo X harder as the day progressed. In a repeat of the four morning stages, the afternoon saw the team shave off over a minute as they blasted over the roads for a second time.
“We had a clean trouble-free start to the rally which gave us the confidence to crank it up a gear,†said Thompson. “It was great to finish the day with barely a scratch on the car and meant we could get straight back into it for day two.â€
Sunday saw the teams’ head south towards Paparoa taking on several stages previously reserved for the New Zealand round of the World Rally Championship. The team continued to build on their day one pace and finished with a solid result, earning some well deserved championship points.
“Overall we’re really happy with the weekend. It was fantastic to put on a good show for all of our local supporters, and we’re walking away with hopes of improvement in the next roundâ€.
The team would like to extend a huge thank you to the boys at Jim Russ Panel Beating in Kerikeri for their effort in getting the car ready in time. They would also like to thank the spectators, friends and sponsors including Ricoh, Repco, NDSL and Petroleum Logistics for their support.
The next round of the NZRC sees the team head south for the Trust House Rally of Wairarapa on the 18-19th July.
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