Team effort key to sensational victory

HAVING an experienced rally driver in the passenger seat, and preparing their own pace notes, gave national rally champion Richard Mason and Sara Randall the edge in last weekend's International Rally of Rotorua.
Mason took a commanding lead in the championship and collected the prized scalp of Australian champion Cody Crocker in their points double-header at Rotorua.
"It went better than I expected," said Mason of Sunday's final stages.
"The approach was to try hard but not dangerously hard. It was strange to go from attacking to defending. But I am very happy to win against Crocker. He is one of the best drivers in the world, up with the Europeans.
"I think it was a big home advantage for me."
Quizzed as to why his pace in the older car ? he is driving a 2001 Impreza against Chris West's 2006 model ? is a lot further ahead of his peers, Mason pointed toward the pace notes read to him by Randall: "The reason we are quicker than the other New Zealand drivers is that we do our own pace notes. That means we can be more committed and go faster.
"Sara is tremendous. She gives me the call at the perfect moment. I think that's because she is a driver (too) and understands."
Running in stark contrast to the wet and wild weather in the Bay of Plenty region on Saturday, the three repeated stages to the north east of Rotorua were bathed in sunshine. For the 26 teams that started Sunday's final leg from the heart of Rotorua, a red-sky sunrise became a factor with sun strike an issue in the first of six stages. The hard base roads helped level the conditions across the field and put the puncture equation to rest ? for the front runners at least.
Continuing his time atop the time-sheets, Richard Mason in the 2001 Subaru Impreza had the measure of the entire Kiwi and International field ? setting a pace on the hard, fast and dry county style roads that no-one could match. In the end Mason finished 8.9s ahead of three times Australian champion Cody Crocker for the Hella International event. Contesting the second leg of the Parker ENZED New Zealand Rally Championship field, Mason finished 1m38s6 ahead of Palmerston North's Sam Murray.
Of those off the pace, and soon to retire, Mason's top championship rival Chris West retired his Subaru Impreza at the end of the first stage on Sunday ? the damaged turbo suffered on Saturday creating flow-on engine problems.
The chasing pack of Sam Murray (Palmerston North), Emma Gilmour (Dunedin) and Todd Bawden (Waihi) were significantly adrift of the winner.
While it was business as usual for Subaru at the front Mitsubishi charger Brett Martin (Taihape) elevated the performing EVO9 throughout the six stage leg ? finishing fourth for the day behind Mason, Murray and Bawden.