Pair crush opponents

Phil Campbell and Venita Fabbro have nailed the New Zealand Rally Championship by winning the VINZ Gold Rush Rally of Coromandel. They finished the main event 17.3 seconds in front of fellow Tauranga diver David Holder. Te Aroha’s Graeme Featherstone came third. Campbell and Fabbro have shown great speed in their four-wheel-drive (4WD) Mitsubishi, which has been a new car for the Tauranga driver this season after stepping up from 2WD categories. “It was a tough rally,” says Campbell. “We took a couple of stages to find a pace we were happy with, and then tried to be consistent in the afternoon.” Nelson Subaru driver Ben Hunt was second to Mason until he punctured a tyre, the problems for the Subaru drivers handing the advantage to Campbell who maintained it through to the finish with a consistent run. Kaiapoi’s Marcus Van Klink in a Mazda RX7 secured the BNT Historic championship for the second time. Timaru’s Darren Galbraith took out the Gull Rally Challenge 4WD title and Auckland’s Jeff Torkington won the Rally Challenge 2WD title. The rally now heads to the Manawatu at end of September for the final round. Points after round five: Richard Mason – 144, David Holder – 76, Ben Hunt – 73, Matt Summerfield – 57, Lance Williams – 51.