Christchurch’s Dylan Thomson will return to the northernmost round of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship, the Mark Cromie Motor Group International Rally of Whangarei, excited to get back on the spectacular cambered roads after a COVID-enforced lay off in 2020.
Not only does Thomson enjoy the event, it is one that has treated him well on the results board as well. In only his second event in a four-wheel drive car, back in 2019, Thomson took fifth of the NZRC competitors, a result that kick started his campaign which would see him finish third in the championship. In his previous time in the Total Lubricants Ford Fiesta he’ll campaign again this weekend, Thomson’s record shows two class wins and a second.
Along with history on his side, Thomson also carries form, coming off a top ten outright finish in the low-powered, two-wheel drive Fiesta at the ultra-fast Otago Rally that opened the season. For Thomson and co-driver Amy Hudson, they not only have a class battle to worry about but would dearly love to maintain such a strong position in the outright championship.
Thomson also enjoys the fact that the event is close to Auckland, a base for a lot of his sponsors and consequently receives plenty of stage-side support.
“I can’t wait to get back to Whangarei, it’s always a favourite event of mine and the roads really suit the Total Lubricants Fiesta,” says Thomson. “It helps that we’ve gone pretty well there in the past too and a lot our sponsors can get out and watch us with it being close to Auckland.”
“We’ve obviously got plenty to focus on for the weekend, it’d be great to get another maximum score in the FIA two-wheel drive class and would really set us up for that class, but we’re also in a pretty cool position in the outright championship that would be pretty cool to maintain.”
The Mark Cromie Motor Group International Rally of Whangarei kicks off with a Ceremonial start on the Te Matau a Pohe bridge in Whangarei from Friday 5pm, followed by two super special stages. Saturday sees eight special stages north of the town, broken up by a mid-day service, with Sunday seeing a further eight stages prior to the finish at Semenoff Stadium from 3pm
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