Dunedin-based Rhys Gardner credited his young team of mechanics for getting him through ''by far the slipperiest rally [he has] ever done'' to finish fifth and elevate him to second in the New Zealand Rally Championship.
Gardner was still feeling exhausted yesterday after battling thick mud on Sunday in his Mazda 2 AP4 over the 10-stage Canterbury Rally, in which the treacherous, wet roads in the Ashley and Okuku forests claimed a huge rate of attrition - with 39 of the 77 teams failing to finish.
''It was a huge effort from the team just to keep the car going through that,'' he said.
His Dunedin crew of Casey Irons, Jayson Carmichael, Jason Inglis and Donovan Isted, who have been with him for about two years, not only had a ''massive week'' readying the rally car before the event as problems came up, but they rectified issues, such as the front brakes failing, during the 200km event.
''They are doing an amazing job for guys who are pretty young and pretty new to rallying but technically they are brilliant,'' Gardner said.
Rangiora brother and sister duo Matt and Nicole Summerfield claimed their second consecutive round win at this third NZRC round, leading home fellow Subaru driver Auckland's Ben Hunt and co-driver Tony Rawstorn by 2min 16.2sec.
Rally Challenge competitors Deane Buist and Karl Celeste, of Christchurch, produced a superb performance in their two-wheel drive Ford Escort to finish third.
A strong run for Josh Marston, of Christchurch, and Gore's Andrew Graves enabled them to claim fourth place in their Holden Barina AP4+ ahead of Gardner.
Summerfield (77 points) leads the NZRC by 10 points over Gardner (67) and Hawkeswood (63) is third.
