Gore rally driver Andrew Graves overcame a tentative start to take home the MLT Barry Robinson Memorial Wyndham Rally trophy.
The inaugural car rally was held on the back roads near Wyndham on Saturday.
The Wyndham Rally was held from 1977 to 1998 and the Eastern Southland Car Club resurrected the event and named it after Mr Robinson, a longtime competitor of the club who died last year.
Mr Robinson farmed nearby at Mokoreta and for many years took part in rallies throughout New Zealand.
Mr Graves said he was "really chuffed" to win the first rally.
"As a young fellow we used to go out and watch [Mr Robinson] rallying.
"An icon of my childhood, so it’s an absolute privilege to have our name on his trophy."
Mr Graves’ son Hayden was co-driver.
Carter Strang and co-driver Stewart Robbie, both of Wallacetown, were second.
The top seed for the rally, Mr Graves, did not get the start he wanted in the first stage.
"We were a bit slow in stage one."
At the Catlins Rallysprint last month, Mr Graves damaged his Mitsubishi Evo 3, which made him a little tentative, he said.
"So probably took a little bit of getting my head around that and getting back into the groove."
However, he made up the time in the second stage with a "real blinder".
He was impressed with the five-stage rally layout, which covered 110km of shingle roads and a forestry section.
"The cool thing about it, it’s a new rally with new stages ... and puts everybody on a level playing field."
He imagined Mr Robinson would think the rally was "outstanding".
Rally secretary Roger Laird said it was a very special event which Mr Robinson’s family attended.
Fifty-one drivers started the event, drivers coming from as far away as Nelson.
"We had 45 finish — most were mechanical damage," Mr Laird said.
He was grateful to the support the rally received, especially from rural community members who were inconvenienced by the closure of roads on the rally route.
There was a "will" to run the event again, but it was too soon to make that decision, he said.
— Sandy Eggleston
