With last year's winner Dean Bond out on the opener and Regan Ross and Jeff Judd succumbing in the third stage, Gore's Andrew Graves charged through to victory on Saturday.
The only person to win the event as both a driver and a co-driver - in 2005 he navigated for a triumphant Derek Ayson - he described it as his "best win ever".
"I'm absolutely chuffed. It's an old car [Mitsubishi Evo 3] but this is a well-deserved result for the whole team.
"Its nice to have this one under my belt."
EFellow Gore driver Paul Cross was 18sec behind in a leased Evo 8, driving it at competition speed for the first time on stage one, which he won.
Dunedin's Steve Wellington stormed through for third in his best overall rally result to date.
His Mitsubishi Evo 6 RS headed off Oamaru driver Scott Simpson's Evo 4 by just 1.9sec.
Clinton's Derek Ayson, in his Nissan-powered Ford Escort, was fifth and the first two-wheel-drive car home, while John Giltrap, of Lincoln, was sixth in his Subaru Impreza WRX.
Ross had taken the lead after the second stage but succumbed to engine problems in the following test, joining Judd, who was sidelined with a blown turbo.
They had more road time than Bond, after he exited 10km into the rally when his gearbox started making a "horrendous noise" and then packed up.
Kaitangata's Duncan McCrostie also departed early after getting "sucked into a tree" about 4km into stage one.
He escaped with a sore neck and a damaged front panel and broken radiator on his Nissan Bluebird turbo.
Ayson, Graves, Barry Mills and Mark Allington were acknowledged for contesting all 10 events.
