Gilmour Takes Popotunoa Rallysprint

Emma Gilmour of Dunedin scored a superb win in her Citroën C3 at the Eastern Southland Car Club Crossroads Clinton Popotunoa Rallysprint in South Otago on Saturday.

Gilmour, already a multiple winner of the event, sealed victory over a high-calibre field with a scorching time on the final run of the second leg, setting a time four seconds better than Jack Hawkeswood of Hamilton to claim the win after finishing second to him for the past two years.

Hawkeswood, seeking a hat-trick in his Toyota Yaris, had led after Leg 1 and set the best times in Leg 2 until the final run, when both Gilmour and Jack Stokes of Waikuku went quicker. Gilmour’s best runs on each leg secured overall victory, with Hawkeswood second and Stokes third.

Andrew Graves of Gore finished fourth in his Mitsubishi EVO 3, winning Class D in the process. Graves had originally been scheduled to drive a new GR Toyota Yaris Rally Cup car as part of a testing programme ahead of the introduction of a new class in the NZRC next season. However, the car could not be brought south after a ferry breakdown prevented it crossing Cook Strait.

Andrew Hawkeswood of Auckland, in a Mazda 2, was fifth and second in Class D, while Carter Strang of Wallacetown was sixth and third in Class D in his Mitsubishi EVO 10.

Jake Thomas of Mosgiel, in a Toyota Corolla, finished a superb seventh overall, claiming Class B honours and finishing as the top two-wheel-drive car. Victory in Class C went to Derek Ayson of Gore in his Opel Manta for the second year in succession. Ayson was eighth overall, with runner-up Tony McConachy of Palmerston North (Toyota Starlet) one place behind. Rory Lawn of Christchurch completed the top ten in his Starlet and claimed second in Class B.

Last year’s Class B winner, Ian Warren of Dunedin, was third in class this year with twelfth overall. Other notable results included newly crowned National ClubSport Champion Josh Cooper of Invercargill, who finished fourteenth overall and third in Class C in his Ford Escort Mk2.

In Class A, Jak Elliott of Oamaru repeated last year’s success ahead of Kevin Brockie of Dunedin, both competing in Toyota Vitz models.

There were several retirements throughout the day. Second seed Robbie Stokes of Waikuku went off the road on the opening run of Leg 1 in his Skoda Fabia and took no further part. Richie Chadwick of Mosgiel encountered engine problems in his EVO and withdrew after the first run, as did former winner Ari Pettigrew of Ohoka in a Porsche 911 due to charging issues.

Brendon Mitchell of Winton in his Datsun 1600 and Ben Forrest of Auckland in an EVO 4 both completed two runs in Leg 1 before being forced to withdraw.

The event was the opening round of the Hawkeswood Mining Deep South Rallysprint Series, which will be contested over four rounds. Of the registered drivers, Gilmour was classified first, with Graves second and Strang third.

Competitors tackled two legs, the first covering 9.7km of public road and the second 9.6km in the opposite direction. Each driver completed three official runs per leg, with results determined by combining their fastest run from each leg.

Eastern Southland Car Club committee member Roger Laird said, “we were absolutely delighted with the great entry and we thank the local residents for their co-operation as we run the event. We are thrilled for Emma (Gilmour), a member of our club, while disappointed Robbie Stokes had his day cut short. We are rapt with the way the event went. It was a big ask with such a big entry list, but a great team effort saw it go very well.”