Motorsport: Holder pushes challenge to the limit

GOOD SEASON: Mount Maunganui rally driver David Holder in action.PHOTO/ JASON BYRNE

Mount Maunganui's David Holder has rounded out the season with a spectacular second place, taking the battle for the win right down to the final stage at the Trusthouse Racetech Rally Wairarapa.

Holder, and co-driver Jason Farmer, headed to the event looking for a clean run and a decent result to reward those that have supported them through a difficult season. They were amongst the most surprised to see that they in fact topped the time sheets through the opening stage.

The second stage saw Holder catch a struggling competitor in front of him, which then led to the discovery that the push-to-pass function on the Rallysafe tracking unit was just out of reach. After eventually working around the problem, Holder made his way past with a muddy windscreen and dropped to second place.

A stage win on stage three and second place on stage four saw Holder maintain his second overall for the rally, and move to the faster afternoon stages 37.2 seconds away from the lead.

The afternoon started well, with Holder reducing the gap on the opening stage by more than half. Going on to claim another 10.9 seconds on stage six saw him head into the final service of the rally just 7.1 seconds off the rally lead.

With more than a sniff of victory Holder attacked stage seven. "I felt like we had a good rhythm for the first half of the stage, until we came round a fast left-hand corner and unfortunately clipped the culvert on the inside. It threw us way too wide for the next right hander, taking out a strainer post before sending us back across the road and into the bank."

Holder was still able to reduce the gap to just 0.7 of a second heading into the final stage. However, any thoughts of victory soon went out the window when the previous stage's damage caused a spin at around 140km/h, and saw the pair lucky to be able to continue. It became clear then that finishing the stage and consolidating second overall was the best decision.

"To be honest I've never felt more disappointed about getting second place, but I'm glad we put on a good show, and take my hat off to rally winner Matt who put down a stunning performance early in the day," said Holder. "Also a massive congrats to Ben Hunt on taking out the championship, he's done a great job all year."

Holder now turns his attention to the team fundraising dinner on November 20, which includes a live auction and special guests, Hayden Paddon and Rod Millen.