Dunedin's Emma Gilmour had been second in the points standings going into the one-day, 10-stage event but, in a devastating blow, was unable to start the rally in Coromandel as the new engine in her Suzuki Swift refused to run properly.
``Unfortunately it gave us problems from when we first fitted it and we haven't been able to fix it - even though the team gave it a really good go. Needless to say we are gutted that we don't have a spare engine to bolt in,'' Gilmour said on Friday.
Reeves and co-driving sister Rhianon Gelsomino won the opening stage on Saturday and never looked back in their Mazda 2, taking the first NZRC round win for the marque in 23 years. They led home another brother and sister combination in Rangiora's Matt and Nicole Summerfield, while Dylan Turner and co-driver Rob Scott completed the podium, only 2.5sec behind the Summerfields. The top five was rounded out by Glenn Inkster and Spencer Winn and Andrew Hawkeswood and Jeff Cress.
Newly-crowned national rally champion Tauranga's David Holder, who wrapped the title up at the previous round, finished sixth overall.
The battle for the remaining championship podium spots went down to the last stages of the event with the bonus points offered on the power stage proving crucial. Aucklander Hawkeswood won the stage ahead of Rotorua's Sloan Cox, Turner, Inkster and Reeves. That allowed Hawkeswood and Cress to claim third for the overall championship standings, while Cox and co-driver Malcolm Read climbed to second and also won the junior championship.
