Macdonald thrilled with dream start to rookie campaign
Caleb Macdonald has been one of the stand-out performers in the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship through the first half of the 2024 season.
The Queenstown-based driver, in his rookie campaign, trails Carter Strang by one point in the highly competitive Rally Challenge 4WD class at the halfway point of the season.
With podium finishes at all three events so far, Macdonald has showcased consistency with genuine outright pace and has surprised himself at how successful the campaign has been to date.
“Yea it has been,” he said. “This is only our second proper season having a competitive go and our first in the NZRC.
“I am super stoked with how it is all going.
“We have been pretty lucky with the car holding together and no major mechanical issues or anything like that.
“Dream start so far.”
After a third-place finish at Rally Otago, Macdonald has backed up a stunning debut drive to secure back-to-back runner-up finishes at South Canterbury and Southern Lights and finds himself seriously in title contention.
“I am not trying to go too far ahead – at the moment I am just going stage to stage but in the back of your mind it [the championship] is always a bit of a dream,” Macdonald said.
“I didn’t think we’d even be in a position that we are now so happy to keep boxing on with the boys and see how we finish up.”
The Rally Challenge sees competitors count their best three scores from the first five events as well as the season-ending round in Whangarei.
Macdonald is likely to head north for the next round at Daybreaker in September and will definitely contest Whangarei at the end of the year.
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