Hawkeswood looks to send off car in style
Andrew Hawkeswood has demonstrated the pace of his new generation Mazda 2 Rallycar during 2014. Photo: Euan Cameron
Andrew Hawkeswood is looking to send off his current Mazda 2 in style with a podium finish at the final round of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship driven by VINZ, the GoPro Daybreaker Rally.
For the 2015 season, Hawkeswood will move to the new generation Mazda 2 that was recently launched in Japan, but in the mean-time has some unsettled business with the current car to resolve.
The season to be date has been hampered by punctures and brake problems for Hawkeswood, with potential podium results at each of the three rounds held to date deflating along with the tyres, but the Aucklander is confident that with the recent speed found in the car, he can mount a serious challenge at the front of the field.
After using three different co-drivers in the three events contested to date this year, Hawkeswood will team up with the experience of Jeff Cress for the second event running, the pair also having teamed up twice before in previous Daybreaker events.
“If we can have a trouble free run, I’d really like to get onto the podium and give this old girl a good send off,” says Hawkeswood, who is widely regarded as New Zealand’s most spectacular rally driver. “We’ve certainly had the speed, particularly at Coromandel, to be on the podium but the luck hasn’t gone our way. Hopefully this time we can turn that around.”
This year sees the Daybreaker event, which is based out of Palmerston North, return to the traditional early morning start with the first car hitting the road at 3.50am before venturing as far north as Taihape. After close to 200km of special stages, teams will return to the finish in The Square at Palmerston North at 4.30pm
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