Carter Strang took his second successive victory in the Eastern Southland Car Club’s Rankleburn Rally in West Otago on Saturday.
Strang, the defending champion and top seed, along with co-driver Stewart Robbie, won all four special stages just as they had done last year in their Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6.
They increased their lead throughout the day to win the event, 2 minutes 42.8 seconds ahead of Mark McMillan/Murray Wright in a Subaru Legacy RS, with Neville Krammer third in another Subaru Legacy after a superb drive.
“It was a great day, everything went to plan,” said Strang at the finish.
“I had intended to put my head down from the first stage and get a lead and we carried the momentum on for the rest of the day.” Strang also paid tribute to the club, “the event ran like clockwork, it was well organised and the roads were in good nick.”
Strang said his only issue was a clutch problem 5 kilometres from the finish.
McMillan, who has only recently returned to rallying after a lengthy break, took quite a conservative approach to the event to achieve his goal of ensuring a finish.
“The last few rallies we have done we have not finished so we were conservative. We had no issues at all. We have got the car pretty right and I am more confident with it.”
McMillan was in the top three in every stage apart from the final one in which he was fourth.
Krammer, with wife Hannah in the co-driver seat, worked his way up the order throughout the day in his Subaru, lying fifth after the opening stage and eventually finishing third ahead of Mark Parsons in a Subaru Impreza H6, with Jeremy McIlwrick (EVO 4) just .5 of a second behind in fifth after a great battle.
Simon Taylor (Impreza) was next in an impressive rally debut ahead of Stephen Gill in a Ford Escort MK2 in seventh, the first 2-wheel-drive car home. Ray Casey (Nissan Pulsar) and Nigel King had his first drive in a 4-wheel-drive car - a Mitsubishi EVO 1 - and Ian Warren in a Nissan Pulsar rounded out the top ten with Gill, Casey and King finishing within a few seconds of each other.
Parsons took the Class D 4-wheel-drive class, Gill, Class C for 2wd cars of 1601cc & over, Warren, Class B for 2wd cars of 1301-1600cc and Harri Judd Class A for 2wd cars of 0-1300cc, 12 months on from his rally debut at this event.
Early casualties in the first stage included Regan Ross who had an electrical problem and a puncture, Richie Chadwick who had a fuel pump problem and Dean Johnston with a broken axle. Several drivers returned to action later in the day with both Ross and Chadwick setting some top ten times upon resumption.
Other retirements included Australian John Spencer, now domiciled in Dunedin, who set the second fastest time in the opening stage only to retire due to overheating in the next stage, Paul Cross who had been sitting in sixth place, Paul Fraser , Sean Sands and Raimon Wilkinson with electrical problems.
Roger Laird of the Eastern Southland Car Club said: “We owe a huge thank you to the whole team who put this event together plus we are grateful for the support of MLT/Heartland Hotels, Ernslaw One Limited and our many other sponsors and supporters.”
SUBSCRIBE BELOW TO READ THE FULL STORY
RallySport Magazine Subscription
Select Subscription Level
Select Subscription Length
Recurring Subscription Cost
A subscription to RallySport Magazine give you access to all our rally
content from Australia, New Zealand and around the world – with news,
features and experiences nobody can match.
Our team are dedicated to providing an unrivalled experience which
shares, supports and promotes the sport of rallying.
By clicking "Subscribe Now" you agree to receive news, offers and updates on RallySport Magazine.
If you do not wish to receive marketing communications, you can update your preferences in My Account.
We will commence charging your payment method after the 7 day free trial expires.
If you cancel after expiry of your trial, cancellation will take effect from the end of your current monthly subscription period.
You will not be refunded any fees paid to RallySport Magazine unless otherwise set out in the terms and conditions.
Account Created!
Welcome to RallySport Magazine VIP Membership.
Get ready for your rally news experience to completely transform.
Start browsing news, exclusive VIP content or check out your account.
