Holder Records Strong Result in NZRC Return

Holder records strong result in NZRC return

Mount Maunganui’s David Holder has exceeded his own expectations with a seventh place finish on his return to the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship at round four, the Mahindra Goldrush Rally Coromandel.

After competing as part of Hyundai team at the opening two rounds, Holder sat on the side lines for the third round but returned to the series for the Whitianga-based event, driving a 20-year old GC8 Subaru Impreza. Also new to Holder was the MRF Tyres he would be using for the first time.

Learning a new car and new tyre amongst the most competitive NZRC field seen in years was always going to be a tricky combination, and at the end of the first stage Holder was 20th fastest, a result the defending New Zealand Rally Champion has rarely experienced. However as the day continued, Holder’s speed increased and by stage three he and co-driver Jason Farmer were setting times knocking on the door of the top ten, before eventually setting the fifth fastest time on the final stage of the day.

The increase in speed across the day meant Holder moved forward on each stage, charging through the final stage to come home in seventh place. This well exceeded his expectations in the older car and promoted him to fifth in the overall NZRC standings.

“We certainly had a challenging day, it took a bit of time to get my head around how to drive the car. The car we won the championship in last year had to be driven very straight whereas the GC8 really required me to throw the car around, which was a lot of fun, but took a bit to get my head around,” said Holder.

“It was great to have the support of MRF tyres and they worked well on the car, we were going reasonably quick and the tyres stood up to the punishment perfectly.”

Holder now looks forward to the final two rounds of the NZRC which they will contest in another vehicle, and he looks forward to announcing more details in the coming weeks.

Holder Brothers Racing campaign is supported by VINZ - Vehicle Inspections NZ, MRF / Mentor Tyres, Farmline Machinery, Stadium Finance, Endless Brakes NZ, Mount Bikes, Mt Wheel Alignment, Monit Rally Computers, RA Graphics, Amplified Customs, Reaction Racing, Broughton Contracting, Force Automotive, Goldfields Automotive and Woodnet.

ENDS

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