Well I've finally done it, secured the title of New Zealand Champion co-driver! All I have to do now, is give it my absolute best at the last round of the 2010 New Zealand Rally Championship and make sure Dean and I complete the other half of the equation, secure Dean as New Zealand Rally Champion. I am confident that we can do it, we sure showed what we are capable of at Nelson. 
So a bit about me. A rally co-driver is a critical part of the team, calling a detailed description of the road ahead from the passenger's seat while the driver races the car on mostly gravel roads at speeds up to 200kph. I've been competing as a co-driver (navigator) since 1998 and in that time I've competed in 59 events across New Zealand, Australia, India, Thailand and Japan, and have clocked up a total of 8 wins and 24 podium finishes. I teamed up with Dean at the end of 2005. We work really well together in the car, and we're good mates out of the car too, it's really important that we get on. Although Dean and I didn't really know each other that well when I first agreed to join up with The ITM Rally Team, we connected in the car straight away, and on our test event, we won outright! Sure it was a regional event rather than a New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC) event, but there were a few fast drivers there and we took the win. Since then, we've competed in 26 events together, both on gravel and tarmac, and have won five, four of which were NZRC events, and we've been on the podium 10 times (8 NZRC). This year has been great so far, but far from easy. We've lead the 2010 New Zealand Rally Championship from the start with our win at Otago, then backed this up with a consistent drive at Rally New Zealand where we got third, then the same again at Whangarei with a third and then came Nelson. Dean has put in a huge amount of work leading up to Nelson. Although we still had the points lead, Emma had put in a good solid performance at Whangarei, and ate into out buffer quite a bit which brought us back to just a two point lead. It's fair to say, we dominated the Nelson event with our eight stage wins, two day wins, and as a result, took away the maximum 74 points, shifting our margin back up to 29. That 29 point margin is for the driver's title, and this has come down to a two-horse-race between Dean and Emma, but I'm confident Dean will get it. It's unusual for a driver and co-driver not to win the two titles at the same time, however the reason why I have secured the co-drivers title, even though I am on the same points total as Dean, is because Emma's co-driver Glenn didn't compete in the NZRC round at Whangarei in July, therefore forfeiting the points from that event. This has given me a greater points gap for the co-drivers title, and there are not enough points available at Wairarapa for him, or any other co-driver to catch up. So there we have it, 10 years competing in the NZRC and finally a national title. What was the best moment? There have been plenty, and they have been mixed up with the lows too. I have to say, the best times have been with Dean and the ITM team. If I was to pin it down to three, they would be winning our first NZRC event at Nelson in 2006, winning the co-drivers title in such a convincing way at Nelson in 2010, and the best is yet to come at Wairarapa on the 11 - 12 September 2010. Cheers Paul NATIONALITY: Kiwi RESIDENCE: Taupo FAVORITE SPARE TIME ACTIVITIES: Mountain Biking, Road Cycling, Water Skiing SHORT TERM GOAL: Help Dean win the New Zealand Rally Championship Drivers Title SEASONS COMPETING IN NZRC: Ten NZRC RALLY WINS: Eight NZRC RALLY PODIUMS: 22 INTERNATIONAL RALLIES COMPETED: 17 |
