With the entry list now published for the Trusthouse Racetech Rally Wairarapa, people around the country are busy studying their form book as they start to make their predictions or size up the competition.
With a total of 75 entries the deliberations may take some time. Within the field are 20 of the Vantage Aluminium New Zealand Rally Championship competitors, (actually 27 if you include the Historic Class which are seeded within the Malcolm Stewart Classic rally), which means that the championship titles will be a tight fight to the finish.
In the Malcolm Stewart Classic Rally, 16 competitors will be taking on the inaugural challenge. Rally Secretary Bruce Sollitt is not only happy with this initial turnout, but is also looking to the future. “The response to the classic event has been wonderful, however the timing hasn't suited everybody, but the messages of support and promises of future attendance are heartening. There's a great foundation to build on”, he says.
With the classic rally being the second round of the Classic Challenge Trophy (run in combination with the Otago Classic Rally), there is much more at stake than just this one event. Both of the leading contenders, Derek Ayson and Regan Ross are seeded one and two in the classic event, which is likely to provide just as much excitement for the spectators as the national championship contenders.
Although Shane Murland is down on points from the Otago event, he is seeded third here, and his recent form at the Rally of Nelson shows that he will be keeping the front runners honest.
For the spectators it will be a visual and auditory symphony as the first 5 classic cars are the mighty Ford Escort, with Euan Fuge in his Mazda RX3 of being the first to sport something other than the oval badge, as he starts in sixth.
Once again Rally Wairarapa has proved very popular with the club and regional competitors. 39 cars in the Allcomers section will roll over the start ramp on Saturday morning as they take up the challenge, in what has developed into one of the “must do” events in the country.
Fresh from a superb win on the Taranaki Tarmac Rally, Neil Marshall is the top seed of this section in the rally. The change in surface from tarmac to gravel is unlikely to worry him, however the second seed might. Adam Bligh has also tasted recent success by claiming second overall at the Gisborne Rally only a month ago. As a young driver on the way up the rankings, he will keep many guessing on how much of a challenge he will present.
However the dark horse could be Tony Dixon. Having moved from two wheel drive to the four wheel drive of a Subaru, he has been spending the year fine tuning the car to his liking. As a result he has won a number of recent sprints, although this will be only his second rally of the 2010 season.
The event will certainly hold something for everyone. From the high tech modern machinery, to the old school classics, to the friends and family competing in their first rally, and everything in between.
