Siblings Stoked with bounce back win 

One of the standout performances at International Rally of Whangarei was FIA Group N 2WD champions Robbie and Amy Stokes.

The brother and sister combination bounced back from a scary crash at Otago three week’s ago that saw their Ford Fiesta leave the road and end up in a pond with water right up to the roof.

Thankfully the youngsters managed to get safely out of the car but it proved a firm reminder about how dangerous rallying can be.

The Stokes siblings were able to borrow a car to compete in Whangarei and they barely missed a beat in taking class honours in convincing style.

“It is unbelievable – we couldn’t be happier with the result,” Robbie Stokes said.

“It was my first finish at Whangarei as well so a big thanks to the whole team, to Mum and Dad and Ian for doing all the work on the car.”

It would seem only natural for the pair to have had some doubts hopping back into the car after such a hair-raising moment down south. Robbie was quick to try and get straight back into action but late in the piece he found out his sister had reservations.

“Amy only told me [Saturday] night that she had big worries about getting back in the car so I am very grateful that she did because I probably wouldn’t have been able to find anyone else,” Stokes revealed.

“It wasn’t a problem for me to be honest – I just wanted to get straight back into the car because I knew what I did wrong. I didn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary.

“I just wanted to get back into the car as fast as possible rather than wait and think about things.”

The Stokes’ trail Mike Sheehan and Glenn Goldring in the standings but had slightly more speed than them at Whangarei, setting up an epic battle throughout the rest of the season.

The 2019 New Zealand Rally Championship is proudly supported by Brian Green Property Group, Gull New Zealand, Dunlop New Zealand, HELLA New Zealand, Stadium Finance, Omega Rental Cars and Suzuki New Zealand.