Dusky Forest Venue For Rally   17 Nov 2016

MEDIA RELEASE

17 NOVEMBER 2016

Dusky Forest Venue For Rally

The Dusky Forest in West Otago will be the venue for the Eastern Southland Car Club's Clubmans Rally due to take place this Saturday, 19 November.

The MLT/Heartland Hotels/Ernslaw One Ltd Dusky Forest Rally 2016 is a round of the club's rally championship and takes place on the roads of the forest in a compact area with little  touring mileage required between stages. Dusky Forest has been a popular area for rallying in the south having first been used for the first Gore Rally back in 1975. Part of the forest was used for the club's 50th Anniversary Rally in 2006 and again in the Gore Rally of 2008 and now with the Eastern Southland Car Club celebrating their 60th year it is back on the calendar.

Multiple Catlins Coast Rally winner, Andrew Graves of Gore, with his son Hayden in the co-drivers seat in their Mitsubishi EVO 3 is the top seed for the event held over five Special Stages. Carter Strang/Stewart Robbie of Wallacetown, winners of the 2014 Allcomers Rally Of Otago, start at two in their EVO 6 ahead of the 2016 Catlins Coast Rally winner Vaughan Edie/Nikita Gibson, in their EVO 8. Barry Mills and Mark Allington of Balclutha are the first of the 2-wheel-drive cars at four in their 2-litre Hillman Avenger.

Graves, Strang and Edie should fight out 4-wheel-drive honours in Class D while Mills will be the Class C frontrunner for 2wd cars 1601cc & over ahead of Peter Jackson of Dunedin in his Citroen Xsara. Class B for 2wd cars of 1301cc-1600cc will see an enormous battle with fifth seeds Richie & Rachel Chadwick of Dunedin in their Toyota Corolla GT, eighth seed Kevin Laird and Kerran Graeve of Alexandra (Toyota Levin AE92), plus Winton's Brendon Mitchell (Datsun 1600) and Graham McRae of Invercargill (Toyota Corolla GT) all very much in the hunt. Ian Warren of Dunedin (Suzuki Swift MK1 Gti), Josh Lankshear of Invercargill (Ford Escort MK2) and Brayden Palmer of Mosgiel (Toyota Starlet) will fight out Class A for 2wd cars of 0-1300cc.

As befitting an event which is part of the clubs 60th year the five Special Stages which cover a distance of 75 kilometres will bear the names of some of the club's older Life Members, Jim McFadzien, Bob Dunstan, Wade Paterson and Stewart Quertier.

Prizegiving will follow the event at the Heartland Croydon Hotel on the Main Queenstown Highway, near Gore.

SPECIAL STAGES

SS1 McFadzien 19.35km

SS2 Dunstan 16.5 km

SS3 Paterson 1 16.9km

SS4 Paterson 2 16.9km

SS5 Quertier 5.0km

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