Christchurch’s Marcus van Klink has taken home another top result at round two of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship, the ENEOS International Rally of Whangarei, taking victory in the Gull Rally Challenge two-wheel drive class on the opening day before powering to an outright podium in the national rally on day two.
A near perfect run throughout the opening three South Island rallies of the season saw van Klink and co-driver Dave Neill bring the Buteline triple rotor Mazda RX-8 north full of confidence.
That was justified, with van Klink amongst the fastest two-wheel drive cars after the opening two super-special stages, while wowing the crowd with some spectacular, flame-throwing action.
Saturday morning saw van Klink involved in a huge battle, pushing hard on the spectacular Northland roads. He ended the morning loop with a lead of just 1.5 seconds in the Gull challenge two-wheel drive class, with the top three separated by less than 10 seconds.
The late afternoon stages would see van Klink suffer from a misfire, but he was able to extend the lead and would take class honours by 18 seconds, his second consecutive win in the class.
With the car back on three rotors, a final day charge saw van Klink record a pair of times inside the top ten amongst the international competition and he carried the speed right across the day to be the fastest car overall in the national rally, securing a spot on the podium.
“The car really is a credit to the whole team, it’s getting better and better and gives us so much confidence to attack,” said van Klink. “We tried pretty hard, especially on day two when the car was running well and it’s great to know we can be as fast as any two-wheel drive car in the country.”
The team now turn their attention to their home rally, Lone Star Rally Canterbury, on June 3.
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