“We did everything we could to beat Alister. We gave it our best shot and it was again another awesome drive from him but we don’t want to give up yet. We want that top spot and we are coming back and we are going to beat him. Rod and Shelly, I'd like to say thanks for another awesome event, I love coming here,” Cox says.
Scottish rally star Alister McRae won the Leadfoot Festival in his Vantage Subaru WRX. Steve Ritchie Photography
The crowd at the Leadfoot Festival, in Hahei, Coromandel Peninsula, was up by 30 per cent this year. Steve Ritchie Photography
“Leadfoot is definitely out of my comfort zone. It’s hard to stop wheelieing on a motocross bike that’s been converted to a motard,” he says.As always, the drift cars were absolute crowd pleasers and had the thousands of spectators on their feet, wildly cheering every tyre-smoking run they did. United State’s-based World Champion Drifter Vaughn Gittin Junior was among the drift crew, lighting up the wheels of his stunning 2017 Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-D. It was his first time in New Zealand and he was living up to his title of Professional Fun Haver - relishing everything the Leadfoot Festival has to offer and making the Best in Show run, as the icing on the cake. “I love the vibe of a group of people who are together, with a love for same thing. Everyone is smiling, everyone is excited. I’m honoured and proud to be a part of it,” Gittin says. Like Coppins, he was making his debut on the intricate series of corners and cambres that constitute Millen’s tricky driveway.
“Rod’s built a challenging and scary track. It’s an accomplishment being in one piece at the top,” Gittin said.There were a few tears in eyes as 88-year-old Allan Woolf retired at the end of the Leadfoot Festival, wrapping up his career in his 1965 Triumph Vitesse that he has spent the past two years doing up. Rod’s wife Shelly, who is the event director, says: “Ticket sales were up around 30 per cent and we ended up with a record attendance here at the Leadfoot Festival this year. Our biggest marketing tool seems to be word of mouth – people who have been here before, loved it, told their friends about it and then they have decided to come along and see what it’s all about for themselves.” 2018 Leadfoot Festival results: Top Ten Shootout 1st - Alister McRae - Vantage Subaru WRX – 49.15 seconds 2nd Sloan Cox - 2004 Mitsubishi Evo Hill Climb Special Evo 8 - 50.71 seconds. 3rd Dean McCarroll - 2013 Juno CN race car – 51.10 seconds Pre-1975 results 1st - Rod Millen - 1974 Mazda RX3 - 53.67 seconds 2nd - Rick Bone - 1972 Datsun 1200 Coupe - 55.00 seconds 3rd - Paul McCarthy - 1974 Ford Escort RS 1600 - 55.22 seconds Pre-1960 results 1st - Ray Ferner - 1931 Ralph Watson Special BSA FW32 - 64.13 seconds 2nd - Cam Neil - 1939 Chevrolet 39 Coupe - 65.74 seconds 3rd - Peter Jordan - 1951 Citroen Light 15 V8 - 66.43 seconds
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