May News

With a good splattering of events on, people have been putting in the km’s around the country to get to their place to be. Race skills activated with pothole mines everywhere along thy journey.

The weather pressure cooker’s still simmering so we’ll count our lucky stars and take any events where we can. We feel for the organizer’s, watching rain clouds swirl leading up to race day. Winter racing has its extra challenges.

Bring the right tyres along because tomorrow won’t be like today. Invest in a good gazebo.

Whatever the challenges, a good group of die hard mates will see you set for a good time. Take a jacket as it’ll probably rain. Big breath if you’re a driver, big cheer if you’re watching from the side line, if you’re servicing, well you’re a bloody legend!

A Bunch of Yellow Vest People

A few of the Pukekohe club members went to get up close and personal with competitors at Rally Whangarei 12-14 May. Working in with timing crews, what better way to learn the ropes of check ins + outs than to crack into it and try the job.

Get the all round experience and stay at the same place together for the weekend where laughs are had well into the evenings, long days ensue and a working weekend quickly turns into a pretty fun experience.

Having a place minutes from the service park definitely helps, hot coffee within a 500m radius, tick, and other amenities close by. It was awesome welcoming all competitors through our TC, trying to park cars in flexi service area in the dark before the Pohe Island night stage slightly more difficult. What a hype, grab me a light bar!

Whangarei blessed us with good weather, even the day two early start wasn’t too bad. The larger competitor group on day one had gaps appearing on day two, attrition clearly working its way through the field. Our yellow vest team felt a bit more in control on the second day, understanding the flows a bit more. Coffee and hot choccies plugged in the downtime periods between check-ins, the younger ones of our group happily taking lie downs where ever to rest the feet.

Sunday afternoon and the time was ticking down to welcome in competitors for the last time. Timing crews were getting restless, there is a lot of standing around, overall it’s a mammoth event for all teams and crews.

We could almost hear the champagne bottles popping from the ceremonial finish close by, some competitors kindly bringing back half sprayed bottles of bubbles as they entered the final parc ferme area to stay a little longer.

For the volunteers, the mighty yellow vest people, it was another great event. Almost like a family reunion, we see each other at these key events and catch up and have a good yarn while doing a bit of hard mahi. It takes a mammoth effort and a whole lot of people to make these things work, and our yellow vest team learnt a whole lot!

MSNZ Celebrating 75 Years

PCC’s Maramarua Forest Rally

Volunteers play a HUGE part in the running of the event.

We need YOU – support the club, support the series and sign up to help us run our biggest event for 2023.

GENERAL EVENTS

WHERE’S HAYDEN PADDON

In the three rounds of the eight-round championship, Paddon and Kennard have now had a win in Portugal and second placings in the Canary Islands and Poland.

The second placings were split by a rush back to New Zealand for the International Rally of Whangarei which the pair dominated, eventually winning by three minutes 35 seconds before jumping on a jet back to Europe.

Paddon and Kennard are now off to Barbados for a rally on June 9-11.

SPORTY UPDATE

Get 7% Off Your Next Brake Pads

Neil Allport from Allport Motorsports is right behind competitors in the Northern Rallysprint Series and is offering deals with brake pad purchases.

Get in touch with Neil or Richard NOW to take up this current offer

Frontal Head Restraints

The Frontal Head Restraint (FHR) is designed to stop a driver’s head from violently moving forward during an impact. MotorSport New Zealand requires the use of a complying FHR device for all race permitted events in New Zealand and the New Zealand Rally Championship. MotorSport New Zealand also highly recommends competitors use an FHR for all other types of motorsport too.

Volunteers Training Schedule

MotorSport New Zealand’s 2023 Officials Training Calendar is now available. Officials Training is an important part of our commitment to ensure our competitors have a safe, fair and enjoyable experience at events and that our Volunteer Officials are properly trained and empowered to carry out their roles effectively.

If you are an existing Volunteer Official or want to get involved, take a look at the calendar below that show the opportunities available for you to learn new roles within the sport.

MSNZ Membership Perks