Gill battling but on track for Coromandel

Historic 2WD championship contender Stephen Gill has been in a race against time just to get to next week’s Dayle ITM Goldrush Rally Coromandel.

The South Island-based Gill blew an engine in his Ford Escort at the Wyndham Rally a couple of weeks ago and has been working hard to get his car ready to head north for the resumption of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship in the seaside town of Whitianga.

“The motor went in over weekend. Quite a few mods to make to suit, but otherwise all good and yes, we are still looking to go to Coromandel,” Gill confirmed.
“Bigger effort to get there now with destroying Holbay engine at Wyndam. It gave no warning and put a leg out of bed.”

Gill has impressed in the championship so far – sitting second in the standings to runaway leader Deane Buist (Ford Escort), who has been unbeatable in the opening three rounds.

While he knows he will be hard pressed to chase Buist down, Gill is happy with how he has performed and set himself some goals for the rest of the campaign.
“Enjoyed season so far – it is hard to get up to Deane’s pace. He is fast! We have had not too bad of a run so far.

“We would like to of course finish the series and hopefully do well. Very hard to beat Ari Vatanen (Deane), so if we came in second behind him, that would be a good achievement.”