7 JUNE 2007

STRONG CONTINGENT OF SOUTHLANDERS LINING UP FOR LOCAL EVENT

A strong contingent of Southland rally drivers will line up on Saturday to take part in their home event, the Ascot Park Hotel Rally Of Southland. 

Highest seeded local driver is Mark McMillan of Invercargill who will start at number nine.     

McMillan almost won this event two years ago but he is is making his first appearance of the season in a Subaru Legacy in what is a low key year for the talented Southlander. Just outside the top ten is McMillan's brother, Shaun McMiIlan, the first Southlander home last year in his  Subaru Impreza. In 2006 Gore driver Andrew Graves won this event as a co-driver. However last year he also made his driving debut, scoring several good placings in his Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 3. That good form has continued this year and he arrives at this event leading the Laird Motorsport Southern Rally Series. Graves is the twelfth seed.

While last year's winning driver, Derek Ayson, is from Clinton he is the President of the Eastern Southland Car Club and is very well known to Southlanders. Ayson has sold the Mitsubishi EVO 4 that he drove to victory last year and has reverted to his Nissan powered Escort as he undertakes a limited programme after winning both the New Zealand Rally Xtreme Championship and the Mainland Series last season. Ayson will start at fourteen on Saturday.

The first Southlander to tackle the National Rally Championship for ten years, Chris Lange of Invercargill, has brought his Ford Fiesta ST home from it's outing in Wairarapa last weekend in order to compete in front of his local supporters. Lange will start at sixteen. The next Southlander over the start ramp at the Ascot Park Hotel in Invercargill on Saturday morning will be Phillip Haar in his Subaru Legacy, seeded at twenty-two for the event.   

The first Southland Sports Car Club member home last year, Jeremy McIlwrick of Winton, starts at twenty-four in his Subaru ahead of fellow Winton drivers Brendon Mitchell in a Mazda 323 and Roger McKay, the first Southlander home on many occasions in the past, in his Toyota Corolla. Meanwhile Carter Strang at thirty and Robert Auld seeded thirty-five return to home territory holding second and fourth respectively in Class B of the Mainland Series.

Other Southlanders in the field include Darryl Batt, Craig Cormack, Neville Kidd, Greg Milne, Neville Mennell, David Scoles, David Jenkins, 

Bevin Jones, Graham McRae and Raimon Wilkinson.

The rally begins at the Ascot Park Hotel at 8am on Saturday morning and covers 9 Special Stages with a total competitive mileage of 169 

kilometres. The final stage takes place at Teretonga Park at 3.12pm on Saturday afternoon. After the cars finish the final stage they will head to the finish ramp which will also be at Teretonga Park.

Rally maps are available from the many event sponsors:

INVERCARGILL

Ascot Park Hotel - Cnr Tay Street & Racecourse Road

Office Shop - 117 Spey Street

Nebulite Southland - 61 Tweed Street

GWD Russells - 18-24 Yarrow Street

Ganders Of Southland - 145 North Road

Caltex Invercargill Oil Shop - 20 Spey Street

Jackson & Wills - 239 Dee Street 

The Rock 90.8FM - Cnr Tay & Kelvin Street

Southland NZ Spirit Of A Nation Shop - 80 Dee Street

GORE

Laird Motorsport - 51A Coutts Road

WINTON

Central Southland Lodge (Wintons Middle Pub) - 232 Great North Road

TOKANUI

Tokanui Foodcentre - Main Highway Tokanui

WYNDHAM 

Rodgers Garage - 12 Balaclava Street

RALLY ROUTE

START - 8.00am Ascot Park Hotel - Invercargill

SPECIAL STAGE 1: Office Shop Pebbly Hills

SPECIAL STAGE 2: Winton's Middle Pub Dunsdale

SPECIAL STAGE 3: Rodgers Garage Waiarikiki

SPECIAL STAGE 4: GWD Russells Mt Herbert

SPECIAL STAGE 5: Ganders Of Southland Waikawa Valley

SPECIAL STAGE 6: Tokanui Foodcentre Tokanui 

SPECIAL STAGE 7: Nebulite Southland Jacks Hill

SPECIAL STAGE 8: Caltex Invercargill Oil Shop Pine Bush

SPECIAL STAGE 9: Jackson & Wills Teretonga Park

FINISH - 3.25pm Teretonga Park - Invercargill