After making a solid start in the 2nd round of the 2009 New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC) Thompson and co-driver Ellis were chasing the leading rookie Kieran Hall, when a minor off-road excursion saw their Mitsubishi Evolution X clip a rock wall on stage 6, spinning off the road and landing just metres from the edge of the Waipori River.
Despite their disappointment, the pair were keen to focus on the positives from the weekend.
“Clearly it wasn’t an ideal way to end a rally, but we were pretty happy with how things were going up until that point,†said Thompson. “We were leading close rivals Matt Jansen and Sloan Cox and were 7th in Group N going into the Waipori Gorge stageâ€.
Unscathed and with only minor damage to the car, the weekend’s result hasn’t dampened the teams spirits either.
“We’ve got three weeks to our home rally in Whangarei – we’re definitely not going to be missing that! The car has already been stripped and work is well underway to get it prepped and ready to goâ€.
And taking it as just part of the normal learning process, Thompson won’t be holding back in his continued push for the rookie title. With three rounds still to go the title fight is far from over!
“It’s going to be a busy few weeks ahead but we’ll be there to put the pressure back on and keep everyone honest!â€
Part of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship, the Whangarei leg of the NZRC will also see a large international group of competitors contest the two-day event on June 6-7th.
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