KEY POINTS:
Emma Gilmour is confident her motorsport rehabilitation has passed another crucial crossroads after reaching the finish of Rally New Zealand.
Although the Dunedin-based Subaru driver trailed winner and World Rally Championship (WRC) leader Marcus Gronholm by almost 36 minutes when the latest leg of the WRC ended at Mystery Creek yesterday, it was still a psychological victory for the 27-year-old.
Heavily concussed by a high speed crash during Rally Whangarei in May, Gilmour had been hesitant behind the wheel in subsequent national championship rounds in Wairarapa Bush and Hawke's Bay.
Last weekend's challenging three-day Waikato-based endurance test was her next significant hurdle and by finishing 33rd overall in a field of 60 she felt she had made some progress - particularly yesterday.
Gilmour was already well out of contention in the production car class off the WRC but knuckled down to the finishing ramp despite being hampered by mechanical problems.
She was caught up in the gearbox curse that also claimed compatriots Richard Mason and Hayden Paddon and, like her rivals, took some time assimilating back to using a clutch and a manual gear change system.
Gilmour had to replace her clutch-less 'dog' box on Saturday night after retiring on the final stage but at least felt she finished the 353km, 18-stage, assignment with a flourish.
"It's been a tough weekend - a character building one. The final day (yesterday) is the only one that's gone right," she said.
"I'm back to driving like I should be."
Gilmour reached as high as ninth in the PWRC but ultimately finished 13th in the class won by Japan's Toshi Arai in a Mitsubishi.
Masterton's Mason could also reflect on an impressive final day after a scorching second run along the Whaanga coast saw him leapfrog from sixth to third - his second podium finish in the PWRC.
Runner-up last year as a guest driver, Mason bought Swede Kristian Sohlberg's entry and will be hoping it pays dividends after he again proved he can foot it with the division's pacesetters.
"We can't be happier than that considering the problems we've had," Mason said in reference to his own gearbox woes on Saturday.
"We'd love to do the PWRC next year," he said after finishing 15th overall.
"Hopefully this weekend has proved we're capable and someone out there might come in and back us."
Mason, who was 1min 10.2sec down on Arai, estimates he needs $1 million to bankroll a crack at the six-leg championship which partially dovetails with the WRC.
Cash flow, meanwhile, was the least of Gronholm's worries before he hung on for a record fifth win on New Zealand soil by the tiny margin of just 0.3 of a second.
Gronholm (BP-Ford World Rally Team) and Citroen's Sebastien Loeb conjured up a grandstand finish on the final 3.14km super special stage at Mystery Creek, with the Finn doing enough to survive by one of the narrowest margins in WRC history.
The Frenchman approached the final seven stages yesterday with a 1.7sec overnight lead and although he pushed out his advantage to 2.9sec Gronholm's cool control eroded the margin with three straight stages wins leading into the finale.
"It was an incredible fight, the best battle of my career," Gronholm enthused after his 30th career win increased his WRC lead to 10 points with five rounds remaining.
"There wasn't room for a single missed gear change."
The 39-year-old said his experience carried him through to his fifth win of the season.
"I stayed calm, that's something I've learned from many years' practice of attacking," he said.
"The only big stress came with choosing the tyres because road conditions were inconsistent. When it's as close as it has been here, one wrong tyre choice would have ruined everything."
Loeb concurred after he was equipped with a hard compound tyre that counted against him when rain dampened gravel on the afternoon re-run over Whaanga.
"Rain fell just as we were about to start and the choice was made. What can you do? That's rallying," said Loeb, who was looking forward to better luck during the Spanish round in early October.
There he will return to his favoured tarmac surface and with three of the five remaining rounds on hard roads, Gronholm is far from assured of claiming a third WRC title.
- NZPA
