Defending a title no easy task

2010 New Zealand Rally Champion Dean Sumner showed his rivals why he is ranked as one of New Zealand’s fastest drivers with an impressive 2011 season and faultless run at the final round in Hawkes Bay, however securing the crown for a second year was not to be.Sumner headed into the final round of the New Zealand Rally Championship on 21st August knowing that he would be handing over the championship crown, but who was to be the recipient was still to be decided on the east coast county roads.

Although his title defence season got off to a good start at Otago where he finished second to Production World Rally Champion Hayden Paddon, Sumner quickly had pressure on him following a disappointing off-road excursion at Round 2 in Auckland, slipping him well down the points table early in the series.

Sumner made a come-back at Round 3 in Wairarapa and bagged another 54 points which shifted him up to forth in the series, although his hard work soon suffered another blow at Round 4 in Whangarei just 3kms in on the opening stage where Sumner’s ITM sponsored Mitsubishi struck a bank in wet, muddy conditions damaging the cars boost pipe and severely dropping the engine’s performance.

Unfortunately the bad run on the northern roads continued the following day with a high-speed brake failure forcing the team to withdraw, sacrificing much needed points in the Championship.Fully aware that there was no chance of taking the title for a second year running, Sumner’s strategy for the final round was to attack from the outset and claim the rally win as his departing shot.

With Paddon dropping the final round due to overseas commitments, Sumner had no regard for mixing up the points battle where Subaru drivers Richard Mason and Emma Gilmour were in a fierce battle for the championship title. With only himself and his sponsors in mind, Sumner quickly stamped his mark by winning four of Saturday’s six stages, and through being second quickest in the other two stages on Day 1, Sumner lead the field by 15.2 seconds heading into the overnight break.

With a fire in his belly, Sumner then went on to win the first two stages of Day 2 further extending his lead before it all came unstuck on one of the rally’s longest stages. Although Sumner hadn’t put a foot wrong all weekend and had demonstrated why he was current champion with a fast, clean run, his ITM EVO9 unfortunately picked up a puncture forcing him to stop and change the tyre, losing three-minutes in the process and dropping him to eighth.

In an attempt to salvage the rally result and shine more light on his campaign, Sumner charged hard to claim another stage win and two more second place stage results, awarding him third overall in the rally to end his 2011 season and one last opportunity to spray the champagne.
The race for the championship crown was won by two-times New Zealand Rally Champion Richard Mason with his wife Sara taking out the co-drivers title for the third time.

The teams now take a well earned summer break while the New Zealand Rally Championship organisers plan the announcement of the 2012 Calendar.