The 2015 national rally champion Ben Hunt has some brand new wheels that he will dial up into competition mode for the first time tomorrow.
His freshly finished Subaru WRX STi - a reward from Subaru of New Zealand for his title win last year - has at least had a little gravel time, completing its teething test run last weekend. Hunt was happy with the result after a busy few months getting it built.
"It is amazing to drive a car with such strong performance right out of the box. After the 50km shakedown I grew a lot of confidence and quickly became comfortable in the new surroundings,'' he said.
"It is just such a great package and I'm confident that the reliability of having a Subaru will see us come into our own over the next three rallies,'' Hunt said.
He was given a standard production-model WRX STi, which was supplied with a roll cage fitted, and from there Hunt has had it prepared to his own specifications.
Countless hours went into building the high-performance rally car and the end result comes after some dedicated teamwork.
Auckland-based Hunt (27), a heavy diesel mechanic, has been working alongside an army of helpers, who have turned the Subaru from a road-going STi into a national rally championship-defending machine.
It sports Reiger suspension and a Modena six-speed dogbox transmission.
"I have been overwhelmed by all the support there has been for this project. From the mechanical, engineering and fabrication side of the build, to the help supplied from friends and family, there have been plenty of hours poured in to get this Subaru ready for round one of the New Zealand Rally Championship this weekend in Otago.''
He also credited brothers Paul and Bryan Hayton, from Possum Bourne Motorsport, for their integral roles in the build process, including the roll cage fabrication, transmission assembly and production of custom-made composite parts.
He and co-driver Tony Rawstorn will have some stiff competition for the 2016 NZRC title, with the entry list looking healthier than it has in years.
New cars built to AP4 regulations are being fielded by the always quick Aucklander Andrew Hawkeswood (Mazda 2) and two-time Targa New Zealand winner Patamahoe's Glenn Inkster (Skoda Fabia AP4), who is switching back to gravel after doing some successful time on tarmac.
While WRC star Hayden Paddon is an obvious favourite this weekend in his recently launched New Zealand-based Hyundai i20 AP4, he is only contesting two rounds of the NZRC, making him ineligible for an overall championship win.
Hawkeswood's company, Force Motorsport, built all three AP4 style cars, which have been designed and constructed over the past 18 months.
Although the team has built three separate makes of car, each runs common suspension including uprights, shock absorbers, arms and subframes, which also help the move to an east-west engine configuration.
With each car running a common platform, they will retain their sense of difference by each housing engines produced by the body shell's manufacturer.
A host of NZRC-returnees will be snapping at Hunt's heels, including Tauranga's Phil Campbell, with his partner, Venita Fabbro, in the navigator's seat.
They will be campaigning the same Mitsubishi Evo 9 in which they finished the NZRC second last year.
Also Mitsubishi mounted are Rotorua's Sloan Cox (Evo X) and David Holder (Evo 8), of Mount Maunganui, who are both contesting full seasons in 2016.
Rangiora's brother and sister pairing of Matt and Nicole Summerfield are fresh from taking their Subaru Impreza WRX to second place in the recent Westland Rally and will be eying a top finish this weekend.
The rally cars leave Dunedin's Southern Cross Hotel at 6.30am tomorrow, heading north for eight stages.
On Sunday they complete a further nine stages to the north of the city in the morning, before heading south in the afternoon.
The spectators
Best three places to watch
Saturday: Special stage 8, the 2.15km tarmac stage begins at 3.15pm beside the Anzac Ave over bridge.
Sunday: Special stages 10 and 13, the 11.5km stage near Middlemarch is run twice. Once at 8.35am and again at 10.50am. Find the Bald Hill Rd viewing point for two bites at the action.
Sunday: Special stage 17, the 15km stage through to Kuri Bush starts at 2.25pm and is the final test for the rally. It is a driver favourite worldwide.
