Dylan Thomson and his team have finished the first round of the New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC), the Rally of Otago, in a stunning first place in the two-wheel-drive class.
The event, held over the past weekend, was held over two days and Thomson with co-driver Amy Hudson were able to balance speed with consistency to walk away with the top spot on the podium.
“This is a great start to the season!” said an excited Thomson. “We achieved all of our goals at the rally and has given us a great start in our championship quest.”
“We wanted to finish this rally with good points for the championship and aim for consistency. We did both those things over the weekend so I’m really proud of the whole team, because it was a huge team effort to even get there, let alone get this result,” continued Thomson.
While Thomson and Hudson are only in their second year of competing in the NZRC, the duo have already proven they have the skills and passion to be at the top.
“We really had to push ourselves at Otago. We pushed the car to its limit on a few occasions, and it was also pretty hard work physically and mentally. But we improved our pace-notes [detailed special stage directions] and used all the tools we learnt during the off season to allow us to keep up the pace.”
Thomson’s Ford Fiesta ST, originally built and campaigned by NZRC Champion Ben Hunt had a lot of work done on it during the off-season to ensure it would handle another year of intense competition.
“The car was just awesome. We had a couple of minor things pop-up but as they say, that’s rallying. It was good to finally get some decent miles in it after all the work we did, and I have to say, it has all paid off, so thanks to all my sponsors, friends and family for making that happen,” said Thomson.
Between now and the next event, Thomson said there isn’t too much to do except double check the car for any potential issues. “If we could go back out this weekend, we would,” laughed Thomson.
The next rally on the team’s calendar is the International Rally of Whangarei, held later this month on the 28 and 29 April in Northland.
- Photo: Peter Whitten
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