Richard Mason says he is no certainty to win this weekend's Rally of Wairarapa.
Mason, from Masterton, knows the absence of current national rally championship leader Hayden Paddon, who is competing in Argentina, will see him installed as a warm favourite but he is quick to emphasise he is no sure
thing.
"Obviously we want to win and will be doing everything in our power to get that result but we're taking nothing for granted, it's going to be hard going," he said.
Mason believes there are at least three other drivers capable of turning up trumps - Dean Sumner, Chris West and Emma Gilmour - and he has a healthy respect for that trio, especially Sumner who has openly stated he will be "going for broke" over the two days.
"He [Sumner] will be putting the pressure on right from the word go, there's going to be plenty of heat up front. It should be exciting to watch."
Mason, who will as usual have wife Sara in the co-driver's seat, has done what he labels as "preventative maintenance" on his Subaru STI since placing second behind Paddon in the Rally of New Zealand staged in the Waikato a few weeks back.
He is as "confident as you can be" that it will stand up well to the rigours of travelling on some testing terrain.
"Nobody can ever guarantee their car will go the distance, there's too many variables in rallying to be that confident," he said.
"All I can say is that we are happy with where we are at and that providing things stay that way it won't be the fault of the car if we lose."
Providing extra incentive for Mason to secure a hometown victory is that 128 national championship points are up for grabs and a win would see him move out to a clear lead over Paddon on the points table.
There are 17 special stages in the Rally of Wairarapa, eight of them on Saturday, and competitors will cover a total of 284km.
