It was with patriot pride that Gore’s Derek Ayson noted he was the only New Zealand driver on England’s Pirelli International Rally’s results list — where he placed seventh in the historic category.
‘‘Pretty cool to be the only Kiwi against some fast, fast guys,’’ he said after finishing last weekend’s 140km event in the Keilder Forest, driving a Group 4 BDG Escort owned and built by Welshman Meirion Evans.
Ayson described the roads as ‘‘certainly different’’ after encountering several fellow competitors’ cars off in ditches and one on its roof, alongside the narrow roads.
Contending with torrential rain that caused the left side of the windscreen to completely fog up, making Ayson’s Welsh co-driver Dale Furniss’ job difficult, meant the pair were happy to emerge unscathed from the event, which is dubbed the ‘‘Killer Keilder’’ ‘‘because it sucks you in so quick,’’ Ayson said.
He thanked Evans, whom he met at the 2016 Silver Fern Rally in New Zealand, for his invitation to drive in the event that was a round of the British Rally Championship.
‘‘The car never missed a beat. To drive a BDG Escort in the Keilder Forest is a dream come true, really,’’Ayson said.
- by Catherine Pattison
Photo: Supplied
