Lone Star Rally of Canterbury in association Joe’s Garage preview

Lone Star Rally of Canterbury in association with Joe’s Garage returns to the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship for the first time since 2019 when it serves as round three this weekend.

The one-day event is based north of Christchurch, using some iconic forestry stages including Mt Grey Road, as well as North Canterbury public roads, which should provide competitors with a great mixture of stages.

Reigning national champion Ben Hunt starts as favourite in his Skoda New Zealand Fabia Rally 2 having won the first two rounds of the season. He was also the winner last time the championship stopped in Canterbury.

The Battle
Hunt deserves to be favourite, but he will face a stiff challenge from a handful of rivals, including three super-fast Cantabrians.

The Stokes brothers – Robbie and Jack – will fancy their chances of a break-through rally win at national championship level. Both proved to be right on Hunt’s pace at the season-opening round in Otago and both know these roads well. Robbie is the closest challenger to Hunt in the championship battle in his Stokes Motorsport Skoda Fabia Rally 2 and a maiden win can’t be far away. Jack Stokes suffered misfortune at both Otago (after leading for much of the event) and South Canterbury and should be considered a genuine threat.

Another local driver is the super consistent Josh Marston, who has put in two solid performances across the opening two rounds. Like the Stokes brothers, he knows these roads well and was champion here in 2018. The RDL Holden Barina AP4 driver is another that is in the championship battle and he will see this as a golden opportunity to get a rally win.

Jack Hawkeswood (Force Motorsport GR Yaris) is another to consider. He suffered an engine failure with a podium berth locked in at South Canterbury and appears to be getting quicker and quicker this season.

The luckless Haydn Mackenzie (Albany Toyota Yaris AP4) is surely due to have a trouble free run and that could see him as a dark horse this weekend. The talented Mackenzie has endured a tough run of mechanical dramas over his last few rallies but is more than capable of landing on the podium.

Other Classes
Canterbury local Dylan Thomson enters the Open 2WD class in his Ford Fiesta this weekend. Thomson is a proven elite driver but gives away a lot of additional horsepower to Dave Strong (Honda Jazz). Strong will need to focus on his championship battle with Paul Cross (Toyota Corolla) and cannot afford a slip up trying to battle Thomson for a class win.

Deane Buist will be an overwhelming favourite in the Historic 2WD battle. Buist, another Canterbury local, has dominated the class in the opening two rounds. Behind him though the battle looks fierce, particularly with the inclusion of Tim McIver (Ford Escort) this week. He should drop right in to the Escort battle alongside Stephen Gill and Andy Martin. Pat Norris (Toyota Corolla) and Mike Cameron (Mitsubishi Lancer) will continue their gripping battle in the class as well.

Caleb Macdonald will aim to make it three straight class wins in the Rally Challenge 4WD class in his Mitsubishi EVO 6. Behind him, the Subaru H6s of Josh Keighley and Kevin Laird will keep Macdonald honest while fighting each other for places, while veteran driver Brian Green should not be discounted in his Mitsubishi EVO 9.
Darren Galbraith, fresh off a win at his home event in South Canterbury, will pace the Rally 2WD field in his Ford Fiesta. It will be interesting to see how Thomas Paul (Honda Civic) and Ian Warren (Nissan Pulsar) go pursuing him on the Canterbury roads.

Keep a close eye on
The NZRC 2WD battle has been a two-horse race between Bryn Jones and Tim Mackersy (both in Ford Fiesta Rally 4 cars) and we expect that battle to be fierce this weekend. Jones has managed to edge Mackersy at the opening two rounds, but the southerner has enjoyed success against Jones in forestry stages this season. With a couple of key tests taking place in the forest on Sunday, look for Mackersy to be right on Jones across the day. To keep the pair honest, Japanese driver Fuyuhiku Takahashi is competing in the class this weekend too and could prove to be a fly in the ointment for the two title combatants.

Best Spectating
The iconic Mt Grey Road is one of the most popular stages in New Zealand Rally and is easily accessible for spectators.

Christchurch based fans can see the cars up close at the ceremonial start at Lone Star Manchester Street from 5pm on Saturday while the rally finishes with a blast around Ruapuna Raceway on Sunday – another excellent vantage point.