Mike Verdoner crashed down the bank with his son Jareb after his gearbox locked.
Mike Verdoner crashed down the bank with his son Jareb after his gearbox locked.
Mike Verdoner knew the Catlins Coast rally would be dangerous.
But that did not mean the Balclutha rally driver was expecting to be thrown 50m down a bank after his car missed a corner and crashed through six trees, leaving him and his son Jareb, 25, contemplating what might have been.
Mike Verdoner.
"I just braced myself ... and hung on," Verdoner said.
The accident happened when the car's gearbox locked as it entered a corner during the second stage of the rally on Saturday.