Clendons off to a Central Region flier

HUSBAND and wife rally team Peter and Kath Clendon, of Masterton, got off to the perfect start to the new season on Saturday, finishing 5th overall and first in class in the Taranaki Rally, round one of the Central Region series.
After a horror year in which they blew two engines, one turbo and one gearbox in their Mitsubishi Gallant VR4, the pair opted to grab points where they could, although they had never competed on tarseal before.
"It was a brilliant result," Peter Clendon said. "We were seeded 12th, which I thought was pretty high. I would have been happy if we'd finished in the top 20.
"We took it pretty easy in the morning then got into it in the last couple of stages.
"In the last stage, which was the longest, we gave it heaps."
He was full of praise for wife Kath. "She was awesome on the notes. We really needed them because we'd never done this event before. We were hitting high-speed blind crests at 180 to 190km/h," he said
"The speedo was off the clock," Kath added. "I finally got my stomach back this morning (Sunday)," she said. "We've never gone so fast."
The class win (E class is for older 4WD turbo cars) puts them in great shape for the next round, Hawke's Bay at the end of July. In addition to the class points, they get bonus points for finishing in the top 10.
The overall winner was Neil Marshall, with Richard Carr co-driving, in a Mitsubishi Evo 3.
Strictly speaking, the Clendons didn't need to go to Taranaki. Wairarapa and Hawke's Bay are both two-day events, with each day counting as a separate rally. Teams need to complete just four rallies, so theoretically two outings would have been enough.
So they travelled to Taranaki just to get some "points in the bank". They never expected to get as many as they did. And they have also dealt a stunning psychological blow to the opposition, with the next E class car finishing minutes behind them.
The Clendons have a new sponsor this year, Heiniger, a Swiss manufacturer of shearing equipment. In addition to cash, that company has supplied a full range of clothing for the team, making them one of the better-presented outfits.
Other major sponsors are Derek Daniells, of Wairere (a client of Wrightons wool rep Peter Clendon) and Total Turbo. Kath is sponsor as well as navigator, through her association with The Professionals, Ross and Quinn, where she works.