Motorsport: Mason tops rally standings

Richard Mason has seized the lead in the New Zealand rally championship with an all-the-way win in the Hawkes Bay Rally yesterday.

The Masterton driver won the first five stages to establish a lead of 39 seconds before easing off to finish 12s ahead of defending champion and fellow-Subaru driver Chris West, of Auckland.

The result puts Mason seven points ahead of West with just the sixth and final round remaining, in Nelson in September.

It is a remarkable performance by Mason, who missed the opening round because of a shortage of sponsorship.

West spent most of the rally fighting for second with fellow-Aucklander Mark Tapper, but their contest came to an abrupt end on the second-last stage when Tapper rolled his car.

He escaped unhurt, but with his championship hopes in tatters - he had been third in the series.