Temuka rally driver Brett Maddren, driving his Toyota Starlet, had a weekend to forget in the latest round of the New Zealand Rally Championship.
Maddren was competing in the 2WD Rally Challenge, and in latest stage travelled to Palmerston North to take on the Daybreaker Rally.
Maddren and co-driver Erik Johnsson competed in the South Canterbury Rally in June and secured a win, giving them a healthy points lead in the series going into the final two rounds.
But with their eyes having been on locking down the title, Maddren said the round could not have gone worse.
‘‘First stage was quite dusty and very rocky. I put on old tyres to avoid punctures — it cost us a bit of time.
‘‘We didn’t do too well on that one.’’
He said the second stage was very similar.
By the third stage the pair had found their groove and posted a competitive time, securing second-fastest. Unfortunately that momentum was halted with stage four and five being cancelled due to accidents. ‘‘We lost 60km of special stage in those two stages.’’ To further compound the misery, stage five greeted them with heavy rain and an accident of their own.
A slower competitor did not pull over to let them pass and they drove into the back of them.
The collision smashed Maddren’s windscreen and sent a rock through the radiator.
‘‘We spent the rest of the rally pulling over every 10km to put water in so we could get to the finish, which we managed to do.’’
Maddren finished last in his class, but still received points because only four competitors finished.
Because of that, Maddren still co-leads the championship with all to race for in Tauranga and Whakata ¯ne on October 15.
‘‘We’ll go up and give it a good shot, it’s my one chance at an initial championship.
‘‘We’re still in it, all is not lost.’’
To top off the weekend his 1pm ferry back to the South Island was cancelled, and he had to get up at 5.30am to catch a new one at 8am.
