Campbell looks for Coromandel repeat
Campbell on his way to the NZRC round victory at last years Rally Coromandel. Photo: Euan Cameron
Tauranga’s Phil Campbell is looking for a repeat result when the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship returns to Whitianga this weekend for the Mahindra Goldrush Rally Coromandel, which last year saw Campbell takes his first NZRC round win.
Campbell heads to Coromandel full of confidence, having taken his second consecutive victory on his home event, Tauranga Rally, this year putting in a dominant performance to win every stage and a winning margin of more than two minutes.
Despite the disappointment of failing to finish the previous round of the championship, Rally Gisborne, Campbell and co-driver Venita Fabbro have powered The Roofing Store Mitsubishi Evo 9 into second place on the points table.
The NZRC championship structure sees one of the first five point scoring opportunities able to be dropped, so a repeat victory on the roads of the Coromandel Peninsula could see Campbell in a strong position to challenge for the title at the final round, Rally Wairarapa, in October.
Prior to the Coromandel event, the team have had the opportunity for a test day, further refining the set up of the Mitsubishi to ensure they can be on the pace from the very first stage.
“I can’t wait to get back to Coromandel, obviously last year was an awesome result and we will certainly be trying to repeat the result again this year,” says Campbell. “It was great to get another win at Tauranga, it’s certainly a real confidence booster and also fantastic to win my home event.”
Mahindra Goldrush Rally Coromandel gets underway with a ceremonial start from 4.30pm in Whitianga on Friday afternoon. The following day, teams will tackle nine special stages totalling 130 kilometres before the finish ceremony from 4.15pm.
Tweet
