MOTORSPORT - Jagger's got style, but check out the car

The opening round of the New Zealand Rally Championship at the Rally of Hawke's Bay went well for Whangarei driver Ben Jagger, with a strong second place in the Group N two-wheel-drive section. The national championship is divided into Group N four-wheel drive, two-wheel-drive Ford Fiesta class and an open class.
Last year in the SeedForce Fiesta, Jagger - along with co-driver Ben Hawkins - claimed second place in the championship's Group N2 class in their rookie season.
At Hawke's Bay, although Jagger put in a respectable drive staying ahead of three hot young newcomers - Ben Hunt, Daniel Harris and Dominick Unterberger - he and Hawkins were unable to keep on pace with last year's champion Patrick Malley.
The Auckland driver won the round at the weekend in the two-wheel-drive Ford Fiesta class, and Jagger and the team are now looking for reasons as to why they couldn't make any impact on his lead at the rally.
"Patrick is going really quick and we can't really work out why because last season he and Ben were constantly trading fastest times," team manager Murray Jagger said.
Looking at every avenue, the team will check the SeedForce Fiesta and its power output after it went through some intensive sessions before the season's opener at the weekend.
"We will be having the car checked out, but also Ben is developing his driving style after working with Alister McRae before Hawke's Bay, so that may be holding him back a bit - but once he gets on top of that he will just get quicker and quicker through the season," the team manager added.
The placing has given Jagger a strong start to the five-round national championship, and after Hawke's Bay he is second behind Patrick Malley for the Rally NZ Rising Star Award.
Aimed at helping drivers succeed in the sport, drivers have to accumulate points for the award from four nominated rallies, which must include the Rally of Whangarei and the Possum Bourne Rally.
Those points go towards winning the prize of a $50,000 sponsorship package for next season.
After the two-day Hawke's Bay event, Ben Jagger and the team headed home to Whangarei scratching their heads but happy with their weekend result.
"It was a good rally for us and we had no issues - it's going to be a very good season and very competitive once all these new young ones get up to speed - Rally of Whangarei is going to be very exciting, I think," Murray Jagger said.
Next up for Ben Jagger is the Rally of Otago from May 16-17, followed by the Rally of Whangarei on June 5-7.
Jagger won the Rally of Otago last year, moving into the lead in the New Zealand Rally Championship's N2 class, and held on to it with a strong second place at Whangarei to finish runner-up to Malley after six rounds.