Cunningham to make comeback at Gisborne
West Auckland rally driver Clint Cunningham will make his return to the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally
Championship this weekend at Fuchs Rally Gisborne.
Cunningham started the season full of hope with a new car, the RCK Contractors Mitsubishi Evo 8 Proto car, to begin his
three year plan to win the NZRC title, but an engine failure saw him forced to retire within sight of the finish.
With a tight turn around between events, the team made the decision to miss the two South Island rounds and concentrate
on ensuring the car will be reliable for the remainder of the season.
Cunningham is making his third visit to Rally Gisborne, twice having had the disappointment of retiring, but is looking
for a finish and maximum mileage to assist with learning his new car.
Before he can record a finish, Cunningham and co-driver Glenn Goldring will need to tackle some challenging stages in
New Zealand not used for ten years, including the Motu, a stage that has been striking fear into competitors for more
than 40 years.
“Hopefully it will be third time lucky for us at Gisborne, we really need to get a finish under our belt and as many
stage miles as we can so I can continue to learn this new car,” says Cunningham. “To get to have a crack at the Motu
will be an awesome experience, we’ve certainly heard plenty of stories about it.”
The Fuchs Rally Gisborne runs on June 27, taking in 146 kilometres of demanding special stages north of Gisborne before
returning to the host town for the finish at Reads Quay from 5.35 that afternoon.
ENDS