Westy?s Wairarapa connection

TWO similar-looking cars are expected to battle it out for the lead in Racetech Rally Wairarapa at Queen's Birthday weekend.
The blue Subaru Imprezas of defending national champion Chris West, of Timaru, and local hero Richard Mason hammered away at each other in the Otago Rally, never more than a handful of seconds apart.
West won day one and Mason won day two, but West had the lowest time overall and took the honours by a narrow margin.
A similar scenario looks likely in Wairarapa, although local fans will be hoping for a reversed result.
But despite appearances, the cars are anything but equal. West's left-hand-drive Impreza was built for the late Possum Bourne and is close to World Championship Group N standard. I understand it is using the latest active differentials out of Cody Crocker's car.
Mason's Impreza is West's old car, and in theory anything up to 20 seconds a stage slower than the Winger Subaru version.
Mason drove out of his skin in Otago, and paid the price in one stage when he clipped a rock. He will have to drive just as hard in the Wairarapa event, so look forward to a real David and Goliath battle.
The West car is being stored in rural Masterton, and thereby hangs another local tale. The car is owned by Winger Subaru in Auckland, and the CEO of that company is former Masterton man Wayne Leach. His brother Gary, employed by the Civil Aviation Administration, has returned to his home district after several years in the Pacific, and it is he who is looking after the car.
The Leach brothers' grandparents farmed at Pongaroa (coincidentally a service break on this year's rally) and their parents had a property in Chester Road.
When I visited the home of Gary and Tusiga Leach he hauled out a photo I had taken in 1986 of him, his Escort rally car, and his co-driver, his mum. Gary was involved in rallying for 4? years and still maintains an interest in the sport. Both parents have since died.
He notes that in his day the local hero was Richard Mason's father (and now sponsor) Tom Mason.
Wayne didn't get involved in rallying until after he moved to Hamilton and into the motor trade. Since then, however, he's become something of a legend. Among many other involvements he's the man who supplied the car for Peggy Bourne to say her last farewell to Possum in this year's Race to the Sky.
That very moving documentary screened on Monday night.
West and Mason are not the only front-runners, of course.
The actual championship leader after two rounds is Mark Tapper (co-driver Jeff Judd), with 92 points in their Mitsubishi Lancer. Tapper is still recovering from a broken leg, but put in a fine performance in Dunedin.
Perhaps it's something to do with his "disability" that he's tentatively listed as one of the guest drivers for the Scooterkhana shootout on the Saturday.
Dunedin winner West, with Gary Cowan in the passenger seat, is just a point behind Tapper, on 91, while third is woman driver Emma Gilmour, with her Chris Randell, in another Lancer on 85 points.
The man who proclaims himself the world's fastest Maori, Marty Roestenburg (Greg Home) is on 60 points in another Lancer, followed by Mason and Sara Randall on 59.
And the local interest continues right through the field, with the evergreen Roger Brader giving the Mazda RX3 an airing in the two-wheel-drive class and Peter Clendon one to watch in his 4WD VR4.