Dunedin’s Emma Gilmour plans to stamp her authority on this year’s Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship, powered by Brother, when the championship’s third round, Drivesouth Rally Otago, takes place in her home town this weekend.
But Gilmour will be facing significant challenges to her title bid from current championship leader Coromandel’s Alex Kelsey, defending champion Masterton’s Richard Mason and former champion Timaru’s Chris West as the 25 to 27 May event takes place on gravel roads around Dunedin city.
The event starts in Dunedin’s famous Octagon at 6:15 pm on Friday before competitors head south for three special stages run in the dark before completing eight competitive stages on Saturday and six on Sunday. Favourite stages with all competitors include ‘Kuri Bush’, ‘Whare Flat’, ‘Macintosh Rd’, and ‘Waipori Gorge’.
“An event win is what we need to stamp some authority on our championship title bid,” says Gilmour, dealer principal of local new car dealership Gilmour Suzuki.
“Westy (Chris West) is fast on these roads and while he’s not featuring at the top of the standings, he’s there to take points away from us all. Richard Mason is going very fast as well, as too is Kingsley Thompson, Alex Kelsey and Sloan Cox.
“It’s a very fast championship; you just have to be pushing it all the time,” adds Gilmour. “Our car has a good base setup now but you always have to keep working on what you can do to be faster each time – because there will be someone there on your heels if you don’t.
“I always like the Otago rally – it always gets good crowds and of course it’s local for me. Plus I’m looking forward to the night stages – I think that will be a bit of fun.”
Mason, who won the second NZRC round, his home event in Wairarapa, regards the Otago rally as quite different to other events in New Zealand.
“The undulations in the roads, the crests and you run along ridge-tops before dropping in to gullies. Roads in other areas tend to follow the hillside rather than going up over the top of them – that makes Otago quite interesting. Plus the road surface can be quite a mixture; it could be really loose gravel or really hard – you don’t know until you get there,” says the three-time Kiwi champion.
“I like the tighter roads, like Waipori Gorge (SS17, 13 km), the final stage of the rally, that’s a really challenging one.”
Mason retired from the first day of the season opener, Brother International Rally of Whangarei, but his Wairarapa win means he heads to Otago with a mere three point deficit to championship leader Kelsey.
Mason adds: “I’ve said earlier in the year the points system will reward those chasing for good results – which is exactly what we have to do and getting from second to first in the championship. We’re planning on having the lead heading to Brother Rally New Zealand in June.”
Kelsey will start first on the road again as he did in Wairarapa. The 19-year-old competes in the open four-wheel-drive category in a Subaru WRX which is built to different specifications to the Group N Subaru STI rally cars that Mason and Gilmour use. This year, the overall championship title can be won by any competitor registered for the championship, regardless of the class of car they compete in. This makes Kelsey eligible for the outright title in exactly the same way as Mason, Gilmour, West and the whole NZRC field.
Heading to Otago, Kelsey has 51 points compared to Mason and Gilmour closely placed with 48 and 47 points respectively. Christchurch’s Matt Jansen is currently fourth in the overall NZRC drivers’ championship standings with 33 points and Kerikeri’s Kingsley Thompson is fifth with 21 points.
Chris West, another South Island favourite, is keen to get his championship back on track. The Mitsubishi driver is languishing in seventh place after being plagued by a fuel issue and other challenges in the first two events. West says the team has been through the whole system meticulously and believe the matter is properly solved.
“Aside from the disappointment at Wairarapa we’ve been really happy with the pace and where we’re at. We’re confident we’ve got to the bottom of an isolated fault that was eventually identified. Now we can go to Otago and put on a good show. The motivation is there – so we’ll be right. I just hope we get a result!” says West.
Also of note is the arrival of Palmerston North-based mechanical engineer Tony McConachy as a ‘new entrant’ to the championship. Having spent many years developing his Hayabusa-powered Toyota Starlet and collecting numerous accolades with his spectacular driving style and finishing positions, McConachy will contest the open two-wheel-drive championship category in Otago.
“To be fair, both Marcus van Klink (historic category Mazda RX7, Kaiapoi) and Dave Holder (open 2WD category Toyota Levin, Mt Maunganui) are driving exceptionally well,” says McConachy. “I have a lot of respect for Dave as he is a very good driver for such a young fella – and he’s a neat guy too. Plus it’ll be good to run against the Ford Fiesta boys – we all run at a very similar pace. There are roads that suit their cars and there are roads that suit my little thing so it can go either way.”
McConachy relishes the unique character of the roads that include many blind brows: “The roads have a beautiful base and the turning crests are relatively flowing as long as you respect them - it’s a very, very good challenge.”
The Otago event is also famous for its classic car category. This year the Stadium Cars/ Nichibo International Classic Rally of Otago field includes Kiwi stars Hayden Paddon with co-driver John Kennard driving the Stadium Cars-backed Ford Escort RS1800.
News and information about the championship – including driver profiles and team news – can be found on the website www.nzrallychampionship.co.nz, or follow New Zealand Rally Championship on Facebook.






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