Campbell looks for more miles at Coromandel

Tauranga’s Phil Campbell lines up at this weekend’s Hyundai NZ Goldrush Rally Coromandel, the fifth round of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship, looking for more stage miles in his new Ford Fiesta AP4.

The 2018 season was supposed to see Campbell contest a full season, but delays in building the car saw him miss the opening two rounds, then an engine failure at round three saw him also sit out round four.

Encouraged by the potential with the new car, Campbell will continue to learn the modern The Roofing Store Ford Fiesta AP4+, with purpose-built suspension and lighter weight in comparison to the production-based cars used previously in his career.

The Whitianga based event offers up good memories for Campbell, who took his first NZRC round win at the event when it joined the calendar in 2014 and followed that up with a solid second place in 2015.

With regular co-driver Mal Peden tied up competing alongside WRC star Hayden Paddon, Campbell will team up with Matt Hayward for this event, the pair having good history including a close-fought second place at the Far North Rally last season.

“It will be great to get back behind the wheel of the Fiesta again, it seems like such a long time since Rally Canterbury, but I’m confident we’re now on top of the issues that stopped us there and hopefully we can get a finish under our belts,” says Campbell. “Coromandel has some pretty special memories for us, taking our first round win back in 2014. It’ll be a bit of an ask this year, really we just want to learn the car as much as possible to be ready to hit the ground running in 2019.”

The Hyundai NZ Goldrush Rally Coromandel takes place on August 18, starting from Whitianga and taking teams across the Coromandel Peninsula for eight special stages totalling 114 kilometres.

Release: BB Media

Photo: Geoff Ridder