Sheehan ready for full on attack in 2019

Queenstown’s Mike Sheehan is counting down the days as he prepares for his first full season in the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship, kicking off with the Otago Rally based around Dunedin on April 13-14.

This season Sheehan will chase the New Zealand Two-wheel drive class for front-wheel drive cars up to two-litres driving the Truck Moves Ford Fiesta R2, one of three identical versions of the car in the class. This season Sheehan focuses purely on the national series, having twice won his class in the Mainland Series over the past two seasons.

Sheehan will continue working with experienced co-driver Glenn Goldring, a relationship that started in the second half of the 2018 season and one that Sheehan says is invaluable as he continues to develop in rallying.

With the in-car team sorted, Sheehan and his loyal service crew have been working hard to strip and rebuild the car to ensure Sheehan can finish each of the six rounds.

“This year we have one goal, to win the New Zealand Two-wheel drive class,” says Sheehan. “We’ve worked really hard over the off-season, not just on the car, but also with Goldie to make sure that we do the best job we can. If we can do that, I’m confident we’ll be well in contention come the final round.”

Sheehan competed in four of the six rounds last year, missing the South Canterbury Rally after last minute car problems and also the Whangarei rally, where David Holder used the Truck Moves Ford Fiesta R2 to gain extra mileage for his Junior World Rally Championship campaign.

The Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship starts with the Otago Rally based in Dunedin on April 12-14, before travelling north to the International Rally of Whangarei on May 3-5. Following that, the series returns to the South Island for the Canterbury Rally (Christchurch, June 2) and South Canterbury Rally (Timaru, June 22) and then returns to the North Island for Rally Coromandel (Whitianga, August 16) and Rally Waitomo (Hamilton, October 19).

Press Release by BB Media    

Photo: Geoff Ridder