Auckland's Glenn Inkster is looking to build on a promising debut season in the Group N class of the New Zealand Rally Championship when the opening round of the 2011 championship, Rally of Otago, gets underway on April 8-10.
Inkster, who will again team up with long time co-driver Glenn Goldring, will campaign the same Team TransNet Extreme Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 as last year.
Seeded seventh for the event, Inkster is in a strong road position with the majority of loose gravel being swept off the racing line, although in the forecast wet weather the roads should not have been effected too badly.
Inkster is also excited by the quality of the field, claiming it to be one of the most competitive ever, in particular having Hayden Paddon back as a huge bonus for the whole field.
"Hayden is fast becoming the benchmark Group N rally driver in the world, which is awesome. Also when you look at the top of the field, five of the top six seeded cars are or have been New Zealand Rally Champion."
To add to the already challenging roads that make up the Otago event, the three opening stages of the event on Friday will be held under the cover of darkness. Driving at night is a challenge Inkster is looking forward to. "I can't wait to rally again at night, it will be awesome." says Inkster.
After re-introducing night stages to the NZRC on the Friday night, a further six stages on the Saturday complete the opening leg of the championship, with a total of 151.94 kilometres of special stages. Leg two will be run the following day with a further 119.55 kilometres of competitive rallying to find the winner of the 2011 Rally of Otago.
Points will be scored towards the NZRC on each of the two legs, however a revision to the bonus point system sees a full third set of points awarded for overall positions after the two legs, placing a greater emphasis on finishing the whole event.
Press release by BB Media
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