Ten years of fermentation, then two more getting closer to the burning ambition of driving in New Zealand on the greatest rally stages in the world, finally became reality on the Silver Fern Rally in November.
Videos of stars like Meirion Evans and Stig Blomqvist flat out in their Ford Escorts against the magnificent New Zealand backdrop showing the remote beauty of this magical territory inspired me.
Working for HERO-ERA on the New Zealand Classic Rally in 2020 cemented my determination. Contacts were made whilst I was there and funds were slowly gathered.
In prospect, 1860 miles, 560 of which were competitive over 46 special stages. As experienced Silver Fern Rally and seasoned Welsh rally co-driver Alun Cook said of the seven days ahead: “This is what we signed up for. It is effectively two season’s worth of UK rallying in one week!”
Here is a diary of my epic adventure.
November 14
“I arrived in Christchurch and rushed to the local IT store to fix my blue-screening laptop, made contact with some local media and my old friend former Formula 3 and Formula 3000 team boss Murray Taylor who was my brilliant man on the ground. Later I
