Stokes rallies to the Canty call

Press, 21 June 1985, Page 23

Stokes rallies to the Canty call

Although this month’s AWA Clarion Rally of New Zealand is expected to be fought between some of the world’s leading drivers from overseas, the Canterbury rally fraternity will be interested in the fortunes of one of the province’s top drivers, Brian Stokes. Stokes, aged 27, might not have the reputation of Finland’s Ari Vatanen or the West German, Walter Rohrl, but the performances of the Waikuku dairy farmer this season suggest that he has regained the form which won him the 1983 South Island championship and which gave him a win in the 1600 cu cm class of the national rally championship that year. With his navigator, Robin Kerr, formerly of Christchurch but now living in New Plymouth, Stokes will contest the competitive 1300 to 2000 cu cm class of the rally’s group B classification. The team will face tough opposition from the New Zealanders, Inky Tulloch and Gary Smith, driving Escorts similar to the DHL Couriers model which Stokes will drive. Another interesting entry in this class is the Russian factory Lada team of two cars. The likely performance of the Ladas is a relatively unknown quantity at this stage. This year’s event will mark Stokes’s fourth attempt at the New Zealand international rally and, although few South Islanders will contest this year’s international, for Stokes it remains the highlight of the rally season. “Although the inter-

national rally costs a lot of money, I would rather give other events a miss to save the budget for the international if need be. It is such a great event. Just think, after a full day of driving you are only a quarter of the way through the rally,” he said. Stokes began rallying in 1977 with 1983 being his most successful season. Last year mechanical failures dogged his progress. On last season’s international event, axle failure lost him time while . handily placed, and later while trying to make up ground and hampered by a broken windscreen, Stokes rolled the car and was forced out. This season has brought better reliability, which Stokes attributes to the replacement of many of the car’s ageing mechanicals with new parts, including the fitting of a new and more powerful engine. To date, Stokes has gained a second place on the dust plagued Mainfreight/3ZM

rally behind Tulloch, and he finished third against strong opposition on the recent Southland rally. A crew of eight will follow Stokes on the rally, with tasks ranging from car preparation to cooking — an important team job on this four-day event. Although the team will have a wide range of spares, it will not carry gearboxes, as the rally’s tight time schedule generally precludes the undertaking of such major repairs. One of the biggest exKes faced by New Zeacompetitors on such a long event is that of tyres, of which Stokes expects to use over 30 in the course of the rally. As this year’s event follows basically the same route as last year’s rally, competitors will be spared the expense of making new pace notes. Last year Stokes purchased a set of notes from the former national champion, Malcolm Stewart, and found them invaluable even though he was using notes for the first time. Although Stokes is naturally pleased to have received a high seeding, thirteenth in the starting order, he is aware of the need to blend speed with endurance on this gruelling event, the toughest on the New Zealand rally calendar. “Our priority will be to win our class, but to do that we will have to be around at the end of four days, so it will be a matter of finding the right pace to suit ourselves in this sort of company,” he said. JOHN HAWKINS