This weekend, Ayson will be lining up in a new car, an Opel Manta 400, which arrived in New Zealand more than five years ago but took a long time to get on the rally road.
For many rallies right around the country, Ayson has been driving his trusty Ford Escort.
He had met with plenty of success in it, including three Otago Rally victories in a row from 2009-2011.
But as time went by he felt things were getting a bit boring and it was same old, same old with his Escort.
It was still going well but it was time for something new.
He got on the internet and found an Opel Manta 400 in Ireland.
He liked the look of it and got his Irish friend Frank Kelly to have a look at it.
Kelly said the Manta had a good body on it, the workmanship was nothing to write home but good enough.
He bought it but it arrived two days before the country went into lockdown in 2020.
So the car sat in a shed in a garage in Dunedin for a couple of years and gathered dust.
Eventually, over the following two years, he brought it out of the shadows and steadily worked on it.
It debuted on a rally in Nelson earlier this year, having a few teething problems before winning his category in the Popotunoa Rallysprint in South Otago last month.
Changing from a Ford to a General Motors vehicle may be a travesty for some but Ayson is happy so far.
"The car is a bit longer and wider than the Escort so it should be more stable on the road.
"It has different front suspension so that will take a while to get used to.
"It will take time.
"Time to get used to the car.
"It will be a learning time in this week’s rally."
He said the Otago Rally was a fantastic event.
"There is a great camaraderie around it.
"When you are wearing your helmet you want to do your best.
"But take the helmet off and we are all mates."
He will have regular co-driver Gavin McDermott along for the ride in the Otago Rally which will be a first for McDermott, as the team will be racing off notes.
Notes means totally relying on the co-driver and what he says when going along the road, Ayson said.
It will be different for the two as they trade details throughout the rally.
Throw in driving a new car and it is going to be a busy couple of days, with racing starting on Saturday morning.
"We are starting ninth so if we can get into the top 10 we will have been doing well.
"We won’t be making an appearance on the podium."
