Pitstop: Mason's secret weapon ready for rally title bid

Richard Mason will have his secret weapon alongside him when he chases his first national rally championship title at Nelson this weekend.

The Masterton driver has a seven-point lead over defending champion and fellow Subaru driver Chris West.

The Auckland-based West has had much more experience of the roads to be used this weekend, winning three times at Nelson when it was part of the Mainland championship and he was living inTimaru.

Mason has competed there only once, for an eighth placing last year, but his co-driver, Sara Randall, grew up in the area and learned to drive on the roads. She has played a major part in Mason's planning for the event.

Punctures are an ever-present threat on the rock-strewn roads and they are likely to be a factor in the national decider over eight stages and 220km. Playing safe is hardly an option, as big points are at stake for these contestants.

While West and Mason have a handy lead over the rest of the field, Dunedin driver Emma Gilmour is being hotly pursued for third place.

Gilmour has 168 points, Brett Martin 167, Sam Murray 165, Glenn Smith 163 and Mark Tapper 161.

There will be a ceremonial start today at 3.15pm and the field will complete one stage, previously used in the 1980 world championship Rally New Zealand. Seven stages will be contested tomorrow from 8am.

This is the first year the championship has been restricted to Group N cars, falling in line with the Australian and Asia Pacific contests.

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SUBARU TEAM SALUTE BOURNE AFTER WIN

Possum Bourne's memory is being kept alive in Australian rallying by his former team-mate Cody Crocker. The Victorian won his third straight Australian championship when he took out the Melbourne Rally last weekend. It was Subaru's 10th straight drivers' championship, with the other seven having been won by Bourne. Crocker paid tribute to his former mentor and the company that still carries his name and yet again prepared the winning car.

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KARTER'S FOURTH CONFIRMS ROTAX MAX PLACE

Young Tokoroa karter Bradley Tyrrell has confirmed his place on the Australasian Rotax Max scene by finishing fourth overall at the Australian national championship meeting at Geelong in Victoria. The 17-year-old set the ninth fastest time in qualifying then had a 6-4-3-3 run through the heats before working his way from fifth to third in the pre-final then finishing the final fourth behind David Sera, Cameron Thorpe and Matthew Wall.

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BURNETT TAKES OVER INJURED KING'S RIDE

Darryll King's misfortune in the national motocross championship has provided a golden opportunity for Waterview rider Hayden Burnett. King was sidelined with a knee injury after the first round of the championship at Taupo and Kiwi Rider magazine publisher Pete McPhee decided that a fully sponsored ride on King's Yamaha should go to a deserving battler at this weekend's Timaru round. The 31-year-old Burnett, a technology company account manager who funds his own racing, was the lucky recipient.

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BLOWN ENGINE COSTS DALE TOP 10 CHANCE

Dale Earnhardt Jnr dropped out of the California round of the NASCAR championship last Monday with a blown engine and will not make the top 10 who contest the championship over the final 10 rounds. Another fan favourite, Jeff Gordon, has slipped to 12th and will need a strong performance at Richmond this weekend to qualify. The California race was won by Kyle Busch, 20, the youngest winner.

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GEOF LOOKING TO LOCK DOWN SECOND

Manawatu driver Geof Argyle will have a good chance to regain second place in the Asia Pacific rally championship when he contests the Gudang Garam International Rally on Sulawesi in Indonesia. The Mitsubishi driver lies third, one point behind Subaru star Toshi Arai, who will not be competing in Indonesia because of commitments to the world production championship. Championship leader Jussi Valimaki from Finland, who missed the last round in Malaysia, is 20 points ahead of Arai.