120 km of special stages in rally

Press, 23 June 1978, Page 10

120 km of special stages in rally

The rallycross on Sunday will whet fans' appetites for the Canterbury Car Club’s Valvoline rally, which will be held next Saturday (July 1). A full entry is expected for the rally, which is the longest for the four Canterbury rallies this season, with 120 km of flat-out special stages and 80km of touring stages. Most of the action will take place near Christchurch, so spectators will not have to travel far to find some good spots to watch. The cars will leave the starting point, Bradshaw's steam-cleaning plant in St Asaph St, at 8 a.m. next Saturday and tour to the motorway bridges across the Waimakariri River. “Special stage one takes the cars upstream on the northern bank for about 10km, on the tricky river tracks. The first car is due to start at 8.30 a.m., and spectators are advised to keep their cars away from the rally route — it is safer to park cars well away and walk in to watch.

The end of this stage will provide some particularly exciting action, and spectators will also be able see the top drivers in action in stage two if they shift after the first 15 or so cars go through. Special stage two takes the cars on a demanding 58km sojourn around the Eyrewell forestry plantation. This stage will be particularly hard on na-

vigators, as there are countless intersections and a wrong turning could lose a team a lot of time. To watch this stage spectators should go to the forest headquarters and walk in. The stage starts around 9.15 a.m. The stage finishes near the Eyrewell River diversion canal, and good viewing places should be found if spectators travel up the South Eyre Road, then along the shingle road which joins it and the along beside the diversion channel. Stage three starts around 10.30 and will bring the cars back down the northern bank of the Waimakariri. It is virtually stage one in reverse. A lunch and service break will then be held near the motorway bridges before the cars cross the river. Special stage four is well known to rally fans. It is from Coutts Island to McLeans Island, run the opposite way to the first stage in the RATEC rally and the best bet for There was plenty of action here in the RATEC event, and the best vet for spectators is to turn left at Belfast just before the motorway, park near Farrier Waimak’s plant and walk in. The first car is due through at 1 p.m.

Then the cars tour over to Yaldhurst.

Stage five is a twisting track through the gravel pit by Hasketts Road near the Ruapuna circuit, and is ideal for spectators.

There are many good vantage points, and if the action is half as good as that provided at a shingle sprint in the pit last year it will be great to watch. This stage will start about 1.45 p.m.

The cars then tootle down the road to Ruapuna for the last stage. Special stage six will take the cars on three circuits of the Ruapuna rallycross circuit, so drivers who competed in the rallycross a week earlier should have the edge on their competitors. The first car will be sent off around the circuit about 2.15 p.m., and spectators will be able to see the top drivers in the gravel pit and at Ruapuna if they watch just the first few through stage five. A good line-up of top local drivers will compete in the Valvoline rally, as well as some from other areas. They include lan Begg (Wyndham, Mazda RX3), Trevor Crowe (Christchurch Avenger), Rob Gerard (Christchurch, Mazda RX3, Alec Doig (Waikuku, Escort 1600), Stephen Stokes (Waikuku, Escort 1600), Chris Bird (Dunedin, Escort 2000), Carl Rabbidge (Timaru, Mazda RX3), Bruce Reid (Christchurch. Datsun 1200 SSS), Peter Columbus (Christchurch, Datsun 1600 SSS), Geoff Owen (Christchurch, Escort 2000) and Ross Hore (Blenheim, Datsun 1200).