Motorsport Plus. Issue 006 by Motorsport Plus Magazine

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ISSUE SIX. 2015

BRENDON HARTLEY : MOTORSPORT PLUS INTERVIEW

Following on from our interview with 2015 Le Mans winner Earl Bamber, we talked to the runner up in the 2015 Le Mans 24 hour and Porsche Works Driver, Brendon Hartley prior to the event that will no doubt change his life forever.

In a memorable month for New Zealand motorsport, Hayden Paddon adds his name to the record books with his inagural podium. Full Report.

We talk to one of the unsung heroes of our sport, owner of Autospeed and former Audi LMP1 engineer and HRT Engine man, Royce McCort.

12 NEWS REPORT 14 SPECIAL HAYDEN PADDONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DEBUT WRC PODUIM PLUS FEATURE 18 MOTORSPORT BRENDON HARTLEY. LE MANS LEGEND PLUS FEATURE 24MOTORSPORT ROYCE McCORT PLUS Q&A 28MOTORSPORT RALLYING ROYALTY. THE MASONS. PLUS FEATURE 32MOTORSPORT D1NZ, THE GRAND FINAL.

COVER SHOT:Brendon Hartley @ Le Mans 2015/Porsche Press.AG EDITOR Ayrton Brant Editor@MotorsportPlus.co.nz INSTAGRAM: @Motorsportplus_Ayrton DESIGN + IMAGING Ayrton Brant ADVERTISING COORDINATOR(S) Chris Merlini Mobile. 021 371 302 chris@mediacell.co.nz Sales@motorsportplus.co.nz Mobile. 021 338 773

Motorsport Plus got ahold of some of the legends of New Zealand rallying, to catch up on their current situation and future plans.

Motorsport Plus was fortunate to get the oppourtunity to experience the D1NZ Final, so we give to you a photojournalistic report of such.

CONTRIBUTORS Porsche Press.AG, Brendon Hartley, Vettas Media, Geoff Ridder, Royce McCort/Autospeed, Kate Gordon-Smith, Richard/Sara Mason, D1NZ. PUBLISHER Motorsport Plus Ltd (09) 239 3495 PRINTERS PMP MAXUM Ltd. (09) 928 4200

Disclaimer MotorsportPlus Ltd. has a copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission of the publisher. Neither editorial opinions expressed or facts stated in advertisements are necessarily agreed to by the editor or publisher. Whilst all efforts are made to ensure accuracy, no responsibility will be taken by the publishers for inaccurate information or for any consequences of reliance on the information.

LE MANS, FRANCE

C H A M P I O N S

In a day that will go down in New Zealand sporting history, kiwi Porsche works drivers Earl Bamber and Brendon Hartley completed the 24 hour challenge 1-2. A true reinforcement that perseverance pays off. You can read our interview with kiwi legend Brendon Hartley later in this issue. IMAGE: PORSCHE.AG

RALLY Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ITALIA SARDEGNA.

P O D I U M

B O U N D

New Zealander Hayden Paddon on his way to claiming a history making second overall in one of the most elite sports, motor racing based or not, in the world. You can read more later on in this issue. IMAGE: VETTAS MEDIA.

F A R

MISANO, ITALY

B E Y O N D

D R I V E N

Avalon Biddle is dominating the Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s European Cup at the moment, but not content with that tag, the New Zealander is now claiming championship points in the European Junior Cup, running with the best Europe has to offer. With Jake Lewis looking to return soon and Alastair Hoogenboezem breaking into the scene, things are picking up once again for kiwi circuit riders.

HISTORY MADE.

New Zealanders Earl Bamber and Brendon Hartley have instilled their names into the halls of motorsport history, with a triumphant 1-2 Porsche victory at the legendary Le Mans 24 hour. “It feels incredible,” the victorious Bamber explained. “I have enjoyed every single stint. It has been a long, long day. To drive in the evening and then again in the morning, I just had a very short break. But I am not tired at all – I am pumped up on adrenalin now. I thought I would have heard strange noises in the car. But, of course, you fancy every kind of noise if you are on your way to winning Le Mans.” After claiming the lead prior to night fall, the number 19 crew threw caution to the wind during the night, to pull a lead that would never be relinquished, to lead the number 17 to the flag, driven home by Brendon Hartley. LMP2 saw GP2 star Mitch Evans claim a podium on debut after a tumultuous 24 hours, while Richie Stanaway would have to settle for a P5 spot, after his GTE-Pro challenge would be compromised by an incident in the first 12 hours. It is the first time since 1966 that a New Zealander has claimed the 24 hours of Le Mans. You can read more about Brendon Hartley’s journey to Le Mans further on in this issue of Motorsport Plus.

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ANSTEY CLAIMS ELUSIVE SUPERBIKE TITLE AT THE ISLE OF MAN.

New Zealand legend Bruce Anstey continues to rule the Isle of Man TT, winning the Superbike title to claim his 10th and most precious success in the treacherous race. Anstey gained his advantage with a slick pit-stop on the fourth lap to get ahead of early leader Ian Hutchinson. From there he dominated to gain a record winning margin of 10.97s from Hutchinson with James Hillar jumping to third after a crash by Michael Dunlop. The 45-year-old Anstey set the fastest lap of the day at 212-kilometres per hour on his final circuit of the six-lap race. “I can’t believe it - I’ve been waiting a long time for this,” a delighted Anstey told the BBC after the race. “I almost ran into Michael on the last lap, which put me off my rhythm a bit, but I managed to get my head together again. “I’ve won all the other classes but this is the one I wanted. The bike ran perfectly.” Hutchinson, back in action after undergoing 30 operations on a leg since a major crash at Silverstone in 2010, paid tribute to his Kiwi rival. “It’s been so long since I raced competitively round here it cost me a wee bit,” Hutchinson said. “I smoothed out a bit on the fourth lap just when Bruce was starting to push hard and I ended up chasing.”

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New Zealand’s most successful rally driver Hayden Paddon has ably demonstrated his star potential having secured a history-making, career-best second place at this weekend’s Rally Italy Sardinia. Paddon and co-driver John Kennard marked their first anniversary with Hyundai Motorsport by creating a double podium finish with Belgium team-mates Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul for the World Rally Championship’s newest manufacturer. Paddon and Kennard led the rally from the start of the day one’s action – the first New Zealanders to lead an overseas 14

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WRC event – and only relinquished that lead on the afternoon of day two’s loop after leading the rally outright for 15 stages. They delivered the final day’s results exactly to plan, securing their fourth stage win of this rally and safely getting to the finish despite some niggles with their Hyundai i20 WRC car. Paddon described his first-ever WRC podium finish – the best result by a New Zealander in an overseas WRC rally – as a dream result. Paddon said: “To finish on the podium is an absolutely amazing feeling. Words can’t really do justice to how I’m feeling right now.”

“We had a strong weekend from the start but we just tried to take each stage as it came without looking too much at the timesheets. We knew it would get tougher once we lost the start position advantage so the fact we could hold our own against the World Champion was just fantastic.” “We had our issues on the Saturday afternoon, and thought that was the rally over, but thankfully we pushed on through, kept digging deep and made it through the Sunday in a comfortable second. Considering our buffer to Thierry in third, we took today very easily, not taking any risks and we have a debut podium as a reward. ALSO ONLINE @ ISSUU.COM/MOTORSPORTPLUS

WORDS. KATE GORDON-SMITH. IMAGES VETTAS MEDIA

“It’s been great to have such support from back home and I’m sorry they’ve had some late nights. I hope it’s been as worthwhile for them as it has been for us. We couldn’t have done this without the team, so my thanks to everyone at Hyundai Motorsport, too. Let’s hope this is the start of more results to come.” This weekend Paddon’s Hyundai i20 WRC car was fitted with the paddle-shift gearbox system for the first time. “Surprisingly, that’s [the paddle-shift] made a very big difference, but we didn’t have much testing before the event,” Paddon said.

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“The first time I used the paddle was at shakedown and a couple of times in the super special on Thursday night I went for the lever. The paddle helps to use the engine a bit more. Looking at the data, I’d been a gear higher than Thierry [Neuville] and Dani [Sordo] and now I’m a gear down in some places. In a lot of corners with the paddles, I’m using the gears more and really feeling the torque – that’s where the improvement is coming.

“It’s been great to have such support from back home and I’m sorry they’ve had some late nights” FACEBOOK.COM/MOTORSPORTPLUS

“I never thought about the result, it was just one stage at a time.”

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“We do the best we can do, and if that’s right or wrong, we can do something about it. We did our thing and it happened to turn out quite well.” “But you know, I never thought, to be honest, about the result, it was just one stage at a time. We wanted to go out and do our own thing. I don’t think we would have kept Seb behind in a straight fight, I think he had something in the tank, but I was a bit surprised when we were still there [in the rally lead] on Saturday lunchtime.” For Paddon’s co-driver John Kennard, this was the second time he’d stepped onto a WRC podium, the previous occasion being 27 years ago when he co-drove for the late Malcolm Stewart in an Audi Quattro coupe to secure third place in the 1988 running of Rally New Zealand, a round of the WRC drivers’ championship that year. When asked about the pressure of leading the rally for 15 stages, Blenheim-based Kennard said: “Like Hayden said, a few years ago we went back to the mentality of doing our own thing. We do the best we can do, and if that’s right or wrong, we can do something about it. We did our thing and it happened to turn out quite well.” Paddon and Kennard’s result surprised rally organisers who weren’t expecting to ALSO ONLINE @ ISSUU.COM/MOTORSPORTPLUS

need a New Zealand flag for the podium presentation. A quick ask-around the assembled fans saw a New Zealand rally fan lend their flag to ensure the star Kiwis were properly represented on the surrounding flag poles. Speaking at the post-event media conference, double world rally champion Sebastien Ogier, who took the rally victory, said: “The two guys on my right [Paddon and Kennard] did a great job. It was kind of a surprise for them to be fighting for so long at the front, but not completely a surprise for me. I knew he had good potential when I saw him competing and I drove against him in 2012 when we were both in a Skoda. I remember some good times from him. I take the chance to say really well done for him.” Team Principal Michel Nandan said: “What a weekend! We have experienced the full range of highs and lows but we leave Rally Italia Sardegna with a truly amazing double podium. Hayden has performed exceptionally this weekend and he has shown why he is a real star of the future in World Rally. He acquitted himself professionally and calmly - even

in the face of issues - and he thoroughly deserves second place. It is particularly fitting on his one-year anniversary as a Hyundai Motorsport WRC driver. “The team performed admirably and worked so hard to ensure we got all cars to Sunday’s final stages. It’s this work ethic that makes these results even more special.” The next event for Paddon and Kennard is Rally Poland running from 2 to 5 July. After this Paddon returns briefly to New Zealand to make a special guest appearance for Auckland motor vehicle dealership Winger Hyundai at New Zealand’s largest automotive and motorsport show, the CRC Speedshow, at the ASB Showgrounds on 18 and 19 July. Paddon and the HPRG team appreciates the support of their exclusive partners, Hyundai New Zealand, PlaceMakers and Pak n’ Save, along with associate support from Z Energy, Scott Sports, New Balance New Zealand and All About Signs Timaru.

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“On the final lap I had tears in my eyes. We have all been working so hard for this result. Stepping onto the podium was a dream come true. It is unbelievable.” 20

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rendon! Let’s start way back, to when you were really the modern day pioneer, heading abroad to go to where the lights shine brightest – Europe. Were your expectations met in terms of competition? What was the game plan during those early years? All those years ago I really did not know what I was in for. I had grown up watching F1 on TV and telling everyone I was going to race F1 but it was not until I arrived in Europe that I truly understood the task ahead. I went through steep learning curves off and on the track. Not only was I driving tracks that I had only seen on TV or read about, I was now only 16 and living on the other side of the world from my friends and family, and traveling every second day to countries I couldn’t previously locate on an atlas. The first year was difficult but in my second year I won a European championship.

The Red Bull Junior Development team is notorious for being one of the most cut-throat, elite squads in world motorsport. How did a teenager from Palmerston North cope with such pressures? Is this something that simply can be learnt or must be experienced? Experience counts for a lot in motorsport and it’s no secret that at times I didn’t cope well with the pressure. I feel I learnt a huge amount from those years and think it’s important for any athlete to go through hard times in your career, how you bounce back and learn from your mistakes and about yourself is important. Your journey to Formula One came to a somewhat abrupt halt after spending what must of felt like an eternity being the simulator guy for several of the elite teams in F1. Growing up as a kid set on his dream of Formula One, was this a tough pill to swallow initially? Or was it one door opening as another closed type of deal? Strangely enough there was actually some relief when I lost my Red Bull contract in 2010, I knew inside I was not performing well at that moment and in a lot of ways it felt like a new start. I took a hard look at myself and where I was heading, got the white board out and picked up the phone to every contact I had met over my 5 years in Europe. Your time in the Greg Murphy (the Irish version) led Murphy Prototypes team was one of reinvigoration. Once again being the pioneer amongst your peers, your journey on the road to Le Mans put you back on the map of motorsport elite. Did you imagine highlighting your abilities in the LMP2 ranks would put you in the targets of Porsche and in one of the ultimate drives in world motorsport for 2014/15? Endurance racing was not something I grew up dreaming about, but I completely fell in love with it and Le Mans in 2012. The same time I started LMP2 was around the same time Porsche announced their return, it was immediately the goal to show them what I could do. At the time I thought it was very unlikely for them to pick me as there were hundreds of more experienced drivers applying for the job. What I did know was that I had been driving better and with more confidence than ever before during 2012/13, I just hoped they were watching!

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“One of the biggest things I have learnt is that you never know who will help you in the future, be nice and take advice from everyone you can, we all think we know everything when we are younger!” 22

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our last race with Murphy Prototypes couldn’t have ended any better, taking the win at the final European LeMans Series race at Paul Ricard. How was it, ending your partnership with the team that gave you your shot at the big leagues, with the ultimate high? It was very special, my endurance racing career started when I met the team at an official test more than 2 years before, I went to the test with my helmet and introduced myself to every team owner, Murphy prototypes was the team that gave me the chance. Walking into the Porsche Motorsport stables for the first time as a factory driver, what were the emotions like? Was it a matter of knowing you belong? Or did you feel you had something to prove? It was a big step up from anything I have ever done before. To represent Porsche at Le Mans is a huge deal and does add some pressure. I would say it wasn’t until half way through last year until I really felt I belonged and had gained the respect from my team mates and team colleagues, now I absolutely feel a part of the Porsche Family and feel I belong in my Porsche overalls.

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The FIA World Endurance Championship has become one of the most prestigious events on the motorsport map, with the jewel in the crown being the Le Mans 24 hour race. Can you try and explain to us those laps where a kid from the Manawatu was leading the biggest race in motorsports? The Le Mans week is a crazy one filled with many emotions. 3 moments come to mind where you realise the scale of the race and achievement of being a factory Porsche driver at Le Mans. More than 100,000 people line the streets of Le Mans for the parade where the fans scream for autographs and you can see the genuine passion for the race, second is on the starting grid where both sides of the track are filled with people, hundreds of them waving Porsche flags, the atmosphere is electric! The third is actually during the race, seeing p1 on the board in arguably the biggest race on earth.

“Many people ask me why so many kiwis are doing so well in international motorsport, the answer is, I don’t know!”

With the announcement that fellow kiwi Earl Bamber was to join you in the third 919-H for Le Mans, do you think the skills you’ve shown on and off the circuit has put a spotlight on New Zealand drivers? It’s been unbelievable to have Earl on board for Le Mans. We grew up racing together and are good friends. I’m not sure many of the NZ public understand the significance of 2 kiwis again competing at the highest level in Le Mans. Many people ask me why so many kiwis are doing so well in international motorsport, the answer is, I don’t know! Lastly, what advice would the 25 year old Porsche Factory driver, Brendon Hartley, give to the 16 year old kid from Palmerston North, Brendon Hartley, that would help him on his way to success? One of the biggest things I have learnt is that you never know who will help you in the future, be nice and take advice from everyone you can, we all think we know everything when we are younger!

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“IT WAS JUST ABOUT PUTTING YOUR HEAD DOWN AND TAKING EVERY OPPORTUNITY WITH TWO HANDS” R O Y C E M c C O R T . MOTORSPORT PLUS FEATURE.

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he motorsport game is one of the most specialised industries in the world these days, requiring skills beyond the ability to handle the spanners. It comes as no surprise then, that Kiwi’s are one of the most valued and sought after members of various motorsport teams around the world. Our “whatever it takes” mentality often separates us from the rest and the Pukekohe based Royce McCort, is no exception. After experiencing the sights around Australia for six months, a young McCort started his motorsport career walking into Perkins Engineering and has never looked back. With little motorsport experience, McCort dedicated his life to learning as much as he could. “I went to Australia cold turkey, without any confirmed employment or anything.” It was just about putting your head down and taking every opportunity with two hands and make the most of it” McCort, now owner of AutoSpeed Engineering explained. After his initiation into the world of motorsport at Perkins, in 1998, the eager kiwi transferred to one of the contenders on the verge of success at

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the time, Gibson Motorsport. With a new challenge of engine development, the Greg Murphy/Steven Richards Wynns racing era was a success for McCort, with the 1999 Bathurst 1000 to his name. But a phone call from a friend would change his goals and bring his ability to adapt to the fore. “One day a good friend of mine, whom worked with Audi Le Mans Program, called and said Joest Racing were looking at expanding their Le Mans Prototype program and asked if I’d be willing to head over there and work on sportscars.” “Of course the answer was YES!!” An overseas experience like no other ensued, with McCort and his partner Charlotte heading to their new German base, before Royce would be sent abroad on multiple occasions. “The American Le Mans series is what we did. Don Panoz was the protagonist behind the American Le Mans series so we raced in mainly America, with Silverstone the only one in Europe, apart the Le Mans 24 hour itself.” “We had a workshop in Atlanta, so things were based out of there. But barring a Re-Tub, the trackside infrastructure was so big, we would just stay another day and service/rebuild the cars at the circuit we were at.”

“We took three cars, nine gearboxes, seven transporters, a telemetry bus...it was a big deal for them and to be honest, it was the best race I’ve ever been involved in, I love that kind of racing.”

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McCort, then the man behind the Audi’s Riccardo Engineering gearboxes, would experience success at the highest level of motorsport, the Le Mans 24 hour race, with the three Audi Sport R8 LMP900’s dominating the podium that year. “We took three cars, nine gearboxes, seven transporters, a telemetry bus... it was a big deal for them and to be honest, it was the best race I’ve ever been involved in, I love that kind of racing. Everything’s built to last long periods of time. The engineering behind what you see in the engines and gearboxes, the suspension and all that, is awesome.” “Before LeMans, we flew to Kyalami (South Africa) for two weeks, then to Sebring (United States) for two weeks, then Charlotte tyre testing for Michelin. Then after the Sebring 12 hour race, we’d park the cars up, have a day off, then pulled the cars out again and try to run another 12 hours, just to see if there was going to be any reliability issues for Le Mans 24. That’s the environment you work in, the whole aim is that one race and the amount of testing we had to do to get that success, was a lot.” Although McCort had a year that many of us could only dream about, the decision was made to head back down under and take a break from the

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motorsport game, to go back to school and study Mechanical Engineering for multiple years. After earning his advanced diploma in mechanical engineering, Tom Walkinshaw Racing/Holden Racing Team came calling for McCort and the chance to develop the next generation splayed valve cylinder heads/valvetrains was one the Le Mans winning engineer wouldn’t pass on. “When I returned back to touring cars... when you’ve been in an environment where everything has to last 24 hours, your mindset changes. So when I came back, the teams were still doing the same thing, with some components replaced at 1000 kilometers.” “When I turned up at TWR, they had just experienced five engine failures in a row, so the first job I got was to figure out was going on, so we could be competitive for the opening rounds of the next season. But the whole mindset in Australia was ‘you build an engine for Bathurst’.” “To build an entire motor to do 1000 kilometers, from a sustainability point of view, was not ideal long term. So we just started pushing it out, further and further to the point where we were reaching 3000 kilometers as the

rebuild point. Things have changed a lot overtime and now engines and components are achieving much higher kilometres.” The return to the V8SC was successful for McCort, as multiple Bathurst victories and an ATCC win with Garth Tander would prove, but as environment changed, a position at Tasman Motorsport arose. Success would continue, with two 4th places and a 2nd at Bathurst. This would be his final position prior to his return to New Zealand. Although the intention was to take a break from the motorsport scene for two years, news travels quickly and the odd jobs started to stack up, creating an opportunity for Royce to begin AutoSpeed Engineering 3 years ago. As they say, the rest is history, with multiple clients including A Grade Midget car teams, to the championship winning New Zealand V8 Supertourer outfit, AutoSpeed has it all. Royce McCort. Just another humble Kiwi that started from the bottom, then proceeded to become one of the elite within the motorsport industry. For more info on Royce and the team, check out autospeedengineering.co.nz.

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RALLYING ROYALTY MOTORSPORT PLUS TALKS TO THE KING AND QUEEN OF NEW ZEALAND RALLYING. RICHARD AND SARA MASON.

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YOU NEVER SUCCEED IF YOU DON’T TRY – SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO DIG REAL DEEP BUT IF YOU WANT IT BADLY ENOUGH, IT’S YOURS. IMAGES: GEOFF RIDDER PHOTOGRAPHY/KATE RIDDER PHOTOGRAPHY

“NOT ONLY DO YOU HAVE TO BE GOOD IN THE ACTU CORPORATE WORLD, GOOD AT LOGISTICS AND ORG First off, you guys are synonymous with the sport of modern day rallying within New Zealand and Australasia, topping it off with a record breaking fifth New Zealand Rally Championship title in 2014. Is this something you can comprehend at this moment in time, or is it something you’ll need to look back on post-rallying life? We are really happy with what we have achieved in New Zealand motorsport and proud of all the work our supporters have put in to help us get here. Our only regret is not doing more overseas – it is so hard to find the funding to go that extra step, but we really feel we have what it takes to be successful against the words best so it can be quite a frustrating position to be in. Those kind of achievements don’t come by ‘chance’ or ‘luck’. Aside from yourselves, what other components are needed to create the Mason RallySport formula for success? A strong team of passionate supporters

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– by supporters we mean sponsors, service crew, family and fans. To be successful in motorsport takes a whole pile more than driving talent and we all have to do our jobs to a high standard to succeed. Not only do you have to be good in the actual stages, you have to be great in a boardroom and the corporate world, good at logistics and organising people, great in front of a camera and driven in the gym. But, with all that success...this offseason has been a bit of a tough one, to say the least. Give the fans a rundown and a sample of the life of many a professional rally team goes through on a year to year basis. Racing ends up being the less time consuming part of motorsport. We race 6 weekends a year in the NZRC, but months of organising and preparation go into it! The moment our season finishes we are straight into working on books for our sponsors and funding for the next season. We both work out at any opportunity – running, swimming,

biking, skiing... pretty much anything! Our car also gets an extensive birthday, ensuring reliability and performance is not compromised. We hold down full time jobs as well – running a workshop in Masterton and have a family so we are very busy people! If the current New Zealand Rally champions have a struggle to find multiple corporate partners in a timeframe, what do you think that says about the NZRC itself? Is there something that could be done or adjusted to help enhance the position of the series within the eyes of the fans/sponsors? I think the current promoters are doing a great job of promoting NZRC, they have bought some fresh enthusiasm to the sport and opened up a few new areas such as live stream which is fantastic. Our biggest hurdle we have come across is having to sell ‘rallying’ as an excellent form of advertising rather than actually having to sell ‘us’. I think it’s important to keep the sport interesting and current.

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UAL STAGES, YOU HAVE TO BE GREAT IN A BOARDROOM AND THE GANISING PEOPLE, GREAT IN FRONT OF A CAMERA AND DRIVEN IN THE GYM” That leads us to round two of the NZRC, the Rally of Otago. When you saw the headline that Hayden Paddon claimed the title in a BDA Escort, out pacing a modern day rally car to take the win on the final stage, what was your reaction? We weren’t actually surprised. Hayden is an excellent driver and was very fast down there in 2014 until he crashed. To be fair a lot of the top runners did strike problems and although the body shell of the BDA is old, a lot of the running gear is quite modern. Hayden has mentioned to me before he’d love to race against us, both in classic cars, so you never know that could be a lot of fun! Onto something a bit different. 2015 sees the Australian Rallycross Championship/Xtreme Rallycross series get underway at some stage. Do you think this could be a viable option for yourselves and/or fellow competitors in the future? I’m very interested to see how the series goes. The promoters have been in contact with us and we are certainly keeping an eye on it. It seems like it could be quite a lot of fun but Sara isn’t

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that keen on it as there’s no co-drivers in the car so she has to just watch! Team Mason are one of the premier squads within New Zealand at the moment, but are there teams/ people in which you would like to emulate or aspire too? Something we have always wanted to do is a full tarmac round of the World Rally Championship in a good car – like a WRC car or R5. Although we don’t do a lot of Tarmac rallying in NZ, when we have it has been a real strength of ours so I think we have the potential to get a top result. For the new generation of kids out there who idolise the Mason Rallysport Team, have you got any words of advice to assist them in their endeavours? You never succeed if you don’t try – sometimes you have to dig real deep but if you want it badly enough, it’s yours. So if there’s a potential partner out there looking at this very article, who can they contact with the goal of supporting the Mason Rallysport crew?

We would love to be out there racing again and we are very open to receiving any leads or ideas from people! We are offering a ride day for you and 3 of your mates on any successful leads. Our email address richard@richardmason. co.nz or message through our facebook page ‘Richard Mason’ The motorsport game is one where we cannot do solo, here’s your chance to thank those involved! We have had some fantastic long term supporters, it’s impossible to name all crew as we’ve had many different and excellent hands touch the car over the years. Our family has also stood beside us through good times and bad and have been a rock for us both. Finally, social media is a pretty big thing these days, how can the fans keep up to date with the team online? Our facebook page ‘Richard Mason’ and also our website www.richardmason. co.nz

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THE PEOPLE’S C H A M P . DARREN KELLY CLAIMS D1NZ TITLE

WORDS: D1NZ. IMAGES. MOTORSPORT PLUS

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The Demon Energy D1NZ Drifting Championship crowned a new drift King at Pukekohe yesterday, with Darren Kelly coming out on top claiming victory in the final round of the championship. Competing in treacherous conditions, Kelly held onto his points lead coming into the round, and prevailed in holding off the hard charging reigning champion Gaz Whiter and past champion Curt Whittaker who finished the round second and third respectively. For Kelly, who only a number of years ago was a spectator in the crowd, it was an emotional win. “It’s hard to explain, indescribable feeling,” says Kelly. “I used to be one of the guys in the crowd, watching the likes of Gaz Whiter (NZ Four-Time Champion) and Fanga Dan Woolhouse (NZ Two-Time Champion), they were the ones I used to look up to. To now be competing against them, and to be crowned champion after a hard fought season and final round, it’s just unreal.” Having never competitively drifted at the famed Pukekohe circuit, Kelly says the track lived up to everything he expected it to be in what can be best described as atrocious conditions.

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“In the dry, the track is scary every time you go into the first part of the section. Unfortunately we got wet weather for much of the weekend, almost every lap was different. We just had to make it work. The closest thing I could describe the driving conditions to would be driving on ice, it was just so slippery.” “The conditions were just so changeable from Friday where we were coming into turn one doing close to 200km/hr, today we were down about 80km/hr off that.” Kelly is also the only driver to successful compete in the second tier Pro Am Category, winning that title in 2013, before stepping up to the Pro Series last year, and ultimately winning the championship on his second attempt. “It’s a pretty big thing for me, we won the Pro Am championship in our first season which was amazing. The step up to Pro was a big one.” Kelly’s round win sealed the championship, with Whittaker and Whiter finishing second and third behind him. In the Pro-AM Development series Troy Jenkins won the championship by just a single point from Joel Hedges, with Joel Paterson in third. Ben Jenkins took his first round win.

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D1NZ PRO-AM CHAMPIONSHIP LINE UP. TROY JENKINS, JOEL HEDGES, JOEL PATERSON.

"TO BE CROWNED CHAMPION AFTER A HARD FOUGHT SEASON AND FINAL ROUND, IT’S JUST UNREAL.”

- DARREN KELLY.

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