Round-1
NZ Success for Full-On Rallysport
25 May 2013 by Team Release
The Full-On Rallysport team are back in Australia after a very successful International Rally of Whangarei.
A strong performance at shakedown started the weekend off well, but also heralded the Whangarei tradition for wet rallies, with overnight rain watering the stages and downpours during the day making the event quite challenging.
The Alliance Airlines Evo 9 crew of Bruce Fullerton and Hugh Reardon-Smith had to cope with fog to start day 1, but by the halfway point of the rally had settled into 3rd place in the Pacific Cup. For the second day the team consolidated its position, pulling further ahead of their nearest competition.
“We entered Whangarei with the aim of a good finishing position but also a straight car, to be ready for the second round of the Pacific Cup in New Caledonia” said Bruce. “And this is what we achieved. We are very happy with the result, as we knew we couldn’t match the pace of Guarav Gill in the Skoda S2000 and Matt van Tuinen in his Subaru, so we drove sensibly to meet our own goals. There were plenty of places to make mistakes, as shown by the Japanese crew in their WRX, so we’re thrilled with our result.”
The team’s best stage place was 5th out of 14 starters in the Asia Pacific round, which was bolstered by some eligible entries from the New Zealand championship.
The Lancer, also supported by Fullerton Financial Services and Pirelli tyres, only needed standard servicing through the event, and the team are now looking forward to the New Caledonia event.
Five things learned on the opening round of the 2013 APRC
23 May 2013 by Giles Wade - www.maxrally.com
Rally of Whangarei: five things learned
by Giles Wade / 22nd May 2013 www.maxrally.com
This year’s Asia-Pacific Rally Championship got underway in the Kiwi autumn last weekend. Here are five things we learned.
1. Lappi learns quickly New Zealand’s roads are reckoned to be pretty tough to learn first time out. The number one thing we learned in the land of the long white cloud last week is that Esapekka Lappi is clearly a quick learner as well as a very quick driver.
2. Prodigious pace from Paddon Hayden Paddon could count himself as unfortunate not to have won last year’s S2000 WRC – but he bounced back in fine style on his home APRC round last weekend. Except he didn’t. He ran in the NZ Rally Championship class, which meant he wasn’t included in the classification for the
APRC. If he had’ve been, he’d have won it by miles.
3. APRC’s not the same with the Satria Where were those screaming Protons? The Malaysians dominated the 2011 APRC season and were really missed on the
North Island last weekend – not least Alister McRae and his spectator-pleasing approach to signing autographs and cambered and quick right-handers. Come back soon.
4. Wot no WRC? The International Rally of Whangarei was New Zealand’s biggest rally of the season and that’s a crying shame. That’s not to detract from the APRC, which is a fine series, but these are the best roads in the world – and the world’s best drivers should be racing on them this season.
5. Toyota’s backGranted, it’s a toe in the water. But it was great to see an ‘official’ Toyota competing on a round of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship again. And even better for Michael Young, who placed the Vitz
RS on the podium first time out. Granted, it wasn’t quite Carlos Sainz in 1990 or Yoshio Fujimoto eight years later, but Toyota’s back in the APRC.
Van Tuinen second place in Pacific Cup
23 May 2013 by Team Release
After a consistent drive in challenging conditions, the Australian VTRacing crew of Matt van Tuinen and Erin Kelly has scored a podium result at the International Rally of Whangarei, and now sit second in the race for the Pacific Cup behind India’s Gaurav Gill.
With fog and persistent rain making the roads in New Zealand’s north slippery and inconsistent, Matt and Erin made no mistakes and brought their Subaru Impreza home as the 3rd place Asia-Pacific finisher, behind the factory-supported Skoda S2000 cars of Gill and overall winner Esapekka Lappi.
For their first attempt at the uniquely cambered and fast rollercoaster roads near Whangarei, van Tuinen was pleased to come away with a solid haul of points,
“For us, that was the whole aim of this event,” he said. “We knew we would struggle to match the factory Skodas with our older car and limited budget.”
“But we’re very happy that the car ran flawlessly thanks to our professional crew, and the Hankook tyres performed very well in the cool and muddy conditions.”
The team now sits just 9 points behind Gill in the Pacific Rally Cup.
The next event for the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship is the Rallye du Nouvelle Caledonie in New Caledonia, where the VTRacing team will be looking to put more pressure on Gill for the title.
For further media enquires contact mattvtracing@gmail.com
Finland's Lappi wins 2013 International Rally of Whangarei
19 May 2013 by Event Release - Lance Hastie
Finland’s Lappi wins 2013 International Rally of Whangarei Visiting New Zealand for their first time, 22-year-old Finn Esapekka Lappi and co-driver Janne Ferm have taken out this year’s opening round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) with a start-to-finish leading performance at the International Rally of Whangarei held this weekend 18 - 19 May.
Driving the MRF Tyres team Skoda Fabia S2000 Lappi extended his overnight lead to a winning margin of 4min03.2 after winning seven of the day’s eight remaining special stages.
Second was team-mate Gaurav Gill from India and co-driver Glenn Macneall while Nelson based Kiwi Ben Hunt and co-driver Tony Rawstorn finished third in their international specification Subaru STI.
Even though he pushed his team-mate hard, Gaurav Gill in the second MRF Tyres team Skoda was hampered by a rear differential mechanical failure during this morning’s loop of four stages.
Continuing with an error free run ensured the reigning Finnish rally champion was never pressured for the top spot during the afternoon’s repeat loop through the Waipu Gorge, Batley, Wairere and Cassidy road stages.
Returning to Whangarei’s Quayside Town Basin for the ceremonial finish, Lappi was thrilled at taking victory on his first visit to roads so well known to his mentors in the World Rally Championship: “A very good result,” said Lappi as he arrived. “We’ve had heavy rain and it got really muddy in some places with fog as well on 
the Saturday. I had to focus on keeping rhythm to suit these roads but basically they were how I thought they were going to be.”
Happy to be able to match the pace of his team-mate when things ran smoothly, Gill was pleased with his overall result: “I love the roads here and I really enjoyed it this year. We went faster than last year so hopefully by next year we will be faster again and hopefully we will be aiming to win. We always love the roads in New Zealand – they teach you new things.”
Just outside the podium was Queensland pairing of Matt van Tuinen and co-driver Erin Kelly in a Subaru STI while Christchurch’s Josh Marston and Mal Peden finished as leading two-wheel-drive in the Ford Fiesta R2 – fifth overall.
Perth based Kiwi Michael Young, the only New Zealander registered for this year’s APRC finished third in the points, bringing the Cusco backed Toyota Vitz home in ninth place overall.
Lappi heads home with 39 points – the maximum on offer. Gill trails by nine with six rounds remaining.
Following post-event technical checks the APRC cars will be released to the teams for cleaning and packing in to shipping containers where they will be transported to the series second round: Rallye de Nouvelle Calédonie 15 to 16 June.
Direct link to results: http://www.chrissport.co.nz/results/2013/whangarei/eventindex.htm
Overall results: International Rally of Whangarei, in association with the Brian Green Property Group 18 to 19 May 2013 - provisional
1 Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm Skoda Fabia S2000 Finland 2hr51min18.3
2 Gaurav Gill Glenn Macneall Skoda Fabia S2000 India +4min03.2
3 Ben Hunt Tony Rawstorn Subaru Impreza WRX New Zealand +8min34.0
4 Matt Van Tuinen Erin Kelly Subaru Impreza WRX Australia +12min13.2
5 Josh Marston Malcolm Peden Ford Fiesta R2 New Zealand +16min15.7
6 Phil Campbell Venita Fabbro Ford Fiesta R2 New Zealand +16min46.3
7 Bruce Fullerton Hugh Reardon-Smith Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX Australia +28min06.9
8 Simon Knowles Margot Knowles Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX Australia +31min43.0
9 Michael Young Daniel Willson Toyota Vitz RS New Zealand +34min35.5
10 Makoto Kawahara Sae Kitagawa Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX Japan +37min08.5
11 Sanjay Takale Sean Gregory Subaru Impreza WRX India +39min33.0
DNF 7 Claude Clavel Philippe Delrieu Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX New Caledonia
DNF 6 Hiroshi Asakura Takumi Takahashi Subaru Impreza WRX Japan
DNF 12 David Holder Josh Theobald Ford Fiesta New Zealand
APRC driver points – top five overall – provisional http://www.fiaaprc.com/
1, Esapekka Lappi, Finland, 39 2, Gaurav Gill, India, 30 3, Michael Young, New Zealand, 24 4, Sanjay Takle, India, 19 5, Hiroshi Asakura, Japan, 5
PHOTOS: Ross, APSMtv
Lappi Leads after Day 1 for MRF Skoda
18 May 2013 by Event Release
After today’s eight special stages in the 2013 International Rally of Whangarei Finland’s Esapekka Lappi and co-driver Janne Ferm hold an overnight lead of 33.3 seconds in their Skoda Fabia S2000 over MRF Tyres team-mate and second placed Gaurav Gill from India.
The opening round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), Saturday’s half of the event covered rural roads south of Whangarei. Lappi, Finland’s current rally champion performed consistently to win five of the day’s tests while Gill won the balance to eat in to his team-mate’s advantage. Third, with an internationally eligible Subaru STI, is New Zealand’s (Nelson) Ben Hunt and co-driver Tony Rawstorn.
Pushing through thick damp gravel early this morning Lappi said he was enjoying the New Zealand conditions – a country and event he has never visited previously. “It is fun to drive [here] and I really like the roads. They aren’t so easy as they turn so much, so that makes it enjoyable. But no problems at all so I’m very satisfied,” said Lappi.
Starting from Whangarei’s Quayside Town Basin at 8am this morning, heavy rain overnight gave way to thick fog for the first group of morning stages. The day’s 139.92km of competitive road sections included double runs across the Hella bridge at Swamp Road and two visits to the new Pohe Island super special stage.
Teams returned to the Quayside Town Basin for an end of day service before being secured at an overnight adjoining park.
Fifth overall for the day and first two-wheel-drive home was Christchurch’s Josh Marston and co-driver Mal Peden in the Ford Fiesta R2. After a tit-for-tat battle with Tauranga’s Phil Campbell and Venita Fabbro, in a same specification car the pair are currently separated by 0.8sec. The advantage swung back to Marston after making rear suspension changes at the mid-day service in an attempt to reverse the earlier deficit.
Perth based Kiwi Mike Young made good on a pledge to bring the brand new Cusco backed Toyota Vitz back in one piece – the only junior competitor in the championship competing this weekend and currently tenth overall.
Leading the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship field, Geraldine’s Hayden Paddon holds a margin of 2min25.6sec over second placed Rotorua driver Sloan Cox. Running in the subsidiary event following the international cars Paddon and Blenheim based co-driver John Kennard won all the day’s rural stages in the R4 specification Mitsubishi Lancer.
Cox, in a Group N+ specification Mitsubishi Lancer made a mature return to form having missed the season’s opening round. Dropping to third after a failed wheel bearing slowed their progress in the day’s final two stages; defending New Zealand champions Richard and Sara Mason were otherwise pleased with the result.
Top BNT Historic competitor is Kaiapoi’s Marcus van Klink and Dave Neill in the Mazda RX7 while Daniel Walker and Jeremy Dawson driving a Mitsubishi Lancer took the day’s honors in the Gull Rally Challenge category.
Of those not so lucky to finish, first casualty was Mt Maunganui’s David Holder and co-driver Josh Theobald. The pair left the road in their Ford Fiesta ST 15km in to the day’s first test – however they intend rejoining for Sunday’s remaining stages. Other non-finishers for the day include New Caledonia’s Claude Clavel (gearbox failure), Dunedin’s Emma Gilmour (steering joint failure), Coromandel’s Alex Kelsey (engine).
Sunday’s remaining eight special stages begins at 6:55am with the cars heading south through Waipu Gorge and on to Marohemo and Batley road, visiting Paparoa and Cassidy road before returning to Whangarei for a 20 minute service break. The teams repeat the stages in the early afternoon, returning to the Quayside Town Basin for a ceremonial finish from 3:15pm. Spectators can watch the finish and Quayside Town Basin service areas with access to rural viewing points costing just $10 per adult. Children under the age of 15 are free with a paying adult and rural paddock parking is available for a gold coin donation. A share of all spectator ticket revenue goes to the local community groups that help run the spectator viewing areas.
Further news and ticketing information can be found on the www.rallywhangarei.co.nz website, or follow the event on Facebook.
Direct link to Saturday results: http://www.chrissport.co.nz/results/2013/whangarei/eventindex.htm
International Rally of Whangarei, in association with the Brian Green Property Group Provisional results for day 1 – Saturday 18 May.
1 Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm Skoda Fabia S2000 1hr23min13.6
2. Gaurav Gill Glenn Macneall Skoda Fabia S2000 +33.3s
3. Ben Hunt Tony Rawstorn Subaru Impreza WRX +3m32.2
4 Matt Van Tuinen Erin Kelly Subaru Impreza WRX +6m18.2
5 Josh Marston Malcolm Peden Ford Fiesta R2 +8m25.5
6 Phil Campbell Venita Fabbro Ford Fiesta R2 +8m26.3
7 Bruce Fullerton Hugh Reardon-Smith Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX +13m24.7
8 Hiroshi Asakura Takumi Takahashi Subaru Impreza WRX +14m34.4
9 Simon Knowles Margot Knowles Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX +15m19.3
10 Michael Young Daniel Willson Toyota Vitz RS +17m30.1
11 Makoto Kawahara Sae Kitagawa Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX +17m30.6
12 Sanjay Takale Sean Gregory Subaru Impreza WRX +18m53.3
DNF 7 Claude Clavel Philippe Delrieu Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX
DNF 12 David Holder Josh Theobald Ford Fiesta
Rally timetable and data Sunday 19 May 6:30am - first car departs Quayside Town Basin service park, Whangarei 7:48am – first car starts ninth special stage (Waipu Gorge 1 11.07km). 10:27am - first car arrives at Quayside Town Basin service park for 20min break. 1:42pm – first car starts final special stage (Arcadia Cassidy 2 26.20km). 3:15pm – cars arrive for ceremonial finish at the Quayside Town Basin, Whangarei. The event is Round 1 of the FIA Asia Pacific Championship And Round 2 of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship