The second day of the Drivesouth International Otago Rally started brilliantly for Balclutha’s Rhys Gardner as he briefly took the lead from Hyundai i20 driver David Holder on the first of seven stages. Tauranga-based Holder had a spin on the opening Whare Flat stage, dropping 25secs. In the second test, Gardner relinquished the 6.9sec margin back to Holder, who regained the top spot by 7secs and stretched out to 20.8secs by the end of stage three. Dunedin’s Emma Gilmour set off with determination today, winning the first stage in her Suzuki Swift Maxi and finishing second on the next stage. The battle for the Classic Rally category still rages with Kaikoura’s Regan Ross holding a slim 9.5sec lead over defending winner Estonian Markko Martin.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 08, 2017 21:56 UTC