MOTORSPORT - Oakden secures Xtreme position

Whangarei driver Brendan Oakden had one goal when setting off to Palmerston North for the Motorsport Manawatu Daybreaker Rally over the weekend.
That goal was to do well enough to earn the points he needed to qualify for the upcoming Rally Xtreme finals held in Nelson and Paihia.
Surpassing his own expectations, Oakden placed second out of the Rally Xtreme competitors, scoring the required points and finishing the four qualifying rounds in second place behind Peter Clendon and co-driver Kathleen Clendon.
To qualify for the final rounds the drivers needed to make the top five.
A fairly smooth rally for Oakden was just what he needed to earn the points and after feeling more comfortable with a new Subaru WRX rally car he also had his regular co-driver Bryan Pipe back beside him calling the pace notes.
The only problem Oakden experienced was brake wear, which didn't seem to hold the Northland racing team up too much.
"It all went pretty well with no problems other than losing our brakes for a while there - I think I go better without them actually," Oakden said.
Saturday's rally was on loose metal roads but did include a stage where the drivers completed multiple laps around the Manfeild Autocourse in Feilding.
Oakden displayed top driving skills on the tarmac and was up with the best and only two seconds off the fastest time.
"We did five laps of the Manfeild circuit and we placed fourth equal around there which I was really happy about.
"I'd say that's where we cooked our brakes though," he said.
Finishing within the top five means that Oakden will now be making arrangements to ship the car and the team down to Nelson for the first of two finals, which will see an inter-island battle between the top five drivers from the North and South islands going head-to-head in September, before doing it all again in October in Paihia.
Rally Xtreme's format dictates that the five top drivers in the South Island rounds will compete against the top five from the North Island in two finals held in Nelson and then Paihia.
After the qualifying rounds the points will be returned to zero for the top-10 drivers, who will then battle for ultimate honours over the two rallies after starting with a clean slate.
The Rally of Nelson will be held on the September 30 as part of the final NZ Rally Championship round and the grand finale will be the Rally of the Far North held in and around Paihia on October 13, in conjunction with the final round of the FRAM North Island Series.