Hunt increases national championship lead
Nelson driver Hunt extended his lead in the New Zealand Rally Championship after claiming victory at Rally South Canterbury on Saturday.
Hunt, the reigning national champion, backed up his opening round win at Otago last month with a dominant win by 1min 56sec.
The Skoda Fabia Rally 2 driver led home Josh Marston (Holden Barina AP4) and Robbie Stokes (Skoda Rally 2).
The battle between Marston and Jack Hawkeswood (Toyota GR Yaris) ran throughout the day until Hawkeswood stopped on the penultimate stage, while Stokes overcame a mechanical issue on the opening stage to salvage a podium finish.
Dylan Thomson was fourth in his older model Subaru Impreza.
Hawkeswood, Dunedin driver Emma Gilmour (Citroen C3), Jack Stokes (Ford Fiesta AP4) and Haydn Mackenzie (Toyota Yaris AP4) all failed to finish.
Bryn Jones (Ford Fiesta Rally 4) backed up his opening round win with victory in the NZRC 2WD class, leading home Dunedin driver Tim Mackersy (Ford Fiesta Rally 4) by 40sec.
Dave Strong also went back-to-back in consecutive rallies in the open 2WD class in his high-powered Honda Jazz, beating Paul Cross (Toyota Corolla).
Deane Buist triumphed in the historic 2WD class with a win in his Ford Escort. Stephen Gill (Ford Escort) and Andy Martin (Ford Escort) completed the podium.
Caleb Macdonald extended his lead in the rally challenge 4WD class in his Mitsubishi Evo 6, though Josh Keighley (Subaru H6) and Kevin Laird (Subaru H6) kept him honest.
Keighley led home Laird and Ben Huband (Subaru H6) in the group A challenge.
Local driver Darren Galbraith won the rally challenge 2WD class in his Ford Fiesta with Ian Warren (Nissan Pulsar) second and first-round winner Thomas Paul (Honda Civic) third.
The championship continues with round three at Rally Canterbury over King's Birthday Weekend.
— APL
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
3 days ago
- RNZ News
The Panel with Allan Blackman and Aimie Hines Part 2
Photo: Dunedin City Council In part two, a see saw in central Dunedin has drawn attention for its price tag - but how much did it actually cost? And finally, the Far North vintage car club is celebrating 50 long and great years of car appreciation.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- RNZ News
NPC Rugby: Fainga'anuku stars as Tasman down Manawatu
Leicester Fainga'anuku. Photo: Evan Barnes/ActionPress Leicester Fainga'anuku scored twice to help Tasman comfortably beat Manawatu 49-17 in Nelson today. The returning All Black, who last played in a test match at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, made his presence felt early as the Mako looked to bounce back after surprisingly one-sided loss to BOP last weekend. Tasman got into their work early, dominating possession and territory to set themselves up with an attacking lineout after only eight minutes. New Zealand Under-20s hooker Eli Oudenryn barged over for the game's first try. Lopeti Faifua then doubled the lead with an easy finish, after Tasman had made short work of some scrambling Manawatu defence. Fainga'anuku then had an even easier finish for his first, a simple pick and go against an empty blindside to walk over. However, his second was a showcase of the sort of attacking ability that saw him offered an eye-watering contract with French club Toulon. Fainga'anuku fielded a kick for touch that took a wicked bounce away from the Manawatu defence, then stepped and swerved his way to the line to make the score 28-0 at the break. Manawatu threatened a comeback with three tries after halftime, but they were answered by Tone Ng Shiu, Fletcher Anderson and William Havili. The only downside was an injury to Havili's brother and Tasman captain David, however Tasman possess such depth they were able to replace him with Kyren Tamouefolau. The win certainly brings Manawatu back down to earth after their impressive win over North Harbour last weekend, they now head to Invercargill next Friday night to face winless Southland. Tasman head very much the other way, up to Whangarei to play Northland. See how the match unfolded below:
Otago Daily Times
06-08-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Swimmer celebrates first ice mile
It takes a cool head to keep swimming in freezing temperatures. Dunedin swimmer Cindy van Sleeuwen is celebrating her recent achievement at the New Zealand National Open Water Championships at Blue Lake, St Bathans. A former "water baby', van Sleeuwen is a member of the Frozen SeaDogs swimming group that swims during winter in Otago Harbour. The group includes nurses, doctors, anaesthetists and search and rescue responders. That means everyone focuses on keeping swimmers safe in and out of the water. ''The coldest moment is actually about 10 minutes after you leave the water." When in cold water, the body protects itself by keeping warm blood in the core, while the extremities lose circulation. Once out of the water, when the body begins to warm up, cold blood from the extremities moves back into the core. ''That is what is called the afterdrop." People can experience shaking, finding it difficult to even hold a cup of coffee. After about two years with Frozen SeaDogs, Ms van Sleeuwen decided to test her mettle at the New Zealand National Open Water Championships, held last month at Blue Lake, St Bathans. Pre-competition training included acclimatising to cold temperatures. "So basically, you want to limit all exposure to really warm environments.' That included not using a heater in the house, something not all partners would tolerate, but her husband, Marcus Ladbrook, was a "tremendous support' and braved the cold as well. Other methods included cycling to work without gloves. ''The 10 days before the event is really crucial for you to be getting exposure to the cold, so I would be swimming in the harbour for every day in those 10 days.' The Central Otago event ran in water below 5°C, with a rescue craft travelling alongside the swimmers at all times. Everyone in the race had a "second' who helped them to a heated medical tent for recovery. "They undress you, because you can't use your limbs — literally like no finger movement. ''They put my pants on backwards, but that's OK." She ended up wearing two pairs of pants, two pairs of socks, four tops and two beanies, and three hot water bottles were placed to warm her up. ''And then you sort of just sit there and wait for the shaking to stop. "As soon as you come out, they want you to have a warm sugary drink like a hot chocolate or something and some high-calorie food." Braving icy water conditions of just under 5°C, and a wind chill of 2°C, van Sleeuwen achieved her first ice mile (1.61km) in a time of 37min 52sec. Next, van Sleeuwen plans to attempt an extreme ice mile, a more open-ended, longer swim undertaken under close monitoring. Jackson Arlidge, of Wellington, holds the record in New Zealand, achieving 2.75km in 44min 43sec. Despite the challenges, van Sleeuwen said she felt ''so amped" after completing her first ice mile. ''It is just beautiful and because we are all on the endorphins, the bonding with the people involved is just phenomenal."
