The BNT Automotive Sponsored Woods Road Sprint was held on the 12th of October
Based in North Canterbury, Woods Road had not been run before as a sprint so a level playing field and a new challenge for everyone one. Despite not being run before the level of enthusiasm for the new road was very high
A full field of 44 entries plus 6 quads were greeted to a stunning north canterbury day for rallying. Despite not having rallied on this road before there were no major incidents which was great for keeping the day on time. We had a couple of escorts have mechanical issues on the first run with Jeff Judd and Tim McIver getting back to back tows from Barny to keep things on track. Matt McGlinchey had a visit to the scenery after forgetting to turn right over a blind crest however managed to get away with minimal damage all things considered.
The rest of the day ran well with a few more small moments from various people concluding with Bryden Sim having a bit of a moment over the last corner which drops away and offer his rear bumper to the gods of speed by leaving it on the road.
The road was really well received by all competitors and looking forward to hopefully returning another time.
Mike tall had a blinder of a last run and managed yet another win in his current blistering run of form beating Robbie Stokes who missed the last run but still managed 2nd overall. Josh Marston rounded out the podium just half a second back just ahead of Sean Haggarty in 4th and Willy Hawes massive wing that happens to be bolted to a Celica sneaking into the top 5
Dean Buist in his normal spot at the front of the 2WD 1600cc+ class with Brody Cattermole in a giant killing performance in his supercharged mini only a second and a half behind Dean in the AE86 which certainly raised a few eyebrows. Marcus Van Klink finishes the podium another half a second back after a successful shakedown day for the silver fern.
James McIver was the fastest 2WD 1301-1600cc in his Mk2 Escort beating Harri Silcock in his Starlet by only 0.4 Seconds and David Birkett coming 3rd in the levin.
Josh Silcock stands atop the 2wd 1300cc class almost 10 seconds ahead of Jeremy Elliot in the Vitz with Hugh Craig coming 3rd in the all Toyota class
Thanks to the BNT Automotive for sponsoring the event, organizers, Volunteers and locals for a great first event at woods road
The course was approximately 4.5 km of gravel road, with a hard base. The first third of the course is on a flat open section with few corners before it starts to climb. There are some challenging corners here as it passes adjacent to a small forestry block before proceeding down a gradual downhill with wide sweeping corners before finishing on the flat