Waimarino rally takes on national status

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 583, 25 April 1995, Page 1

Waimarino rally takes on national status

Heavy rain did not dampen the enthusiasm of the organisers of Wellington Car Club's New Zealand Rally Championship Powderhorn Chateau Snowline Rally on Saturday, though atrocious weather on the mountain saw the night hill climb up the Ohakune Mountain Road cancelled. Of the 90 entrants, 86 cars started and 53 finished the rally which saw some of New Zealand' s top national rally crews race over four special stages in the Karioi Forest, one down the Whangaehu Valley Road, one up the Oruakukuru Road and one along Pakihi and Lakes roads. This year was the first time the rally has been part of the national championship round since the club started, the rally in 1990, and clerk of course Barry Lakeman said hopefully it won't be the last. He said the rally had gone well despite the weather and that it was looking promising for a repeat. One problem they face in this respect is having difficulty providing a 'park ferme' — a roped-off area for all competitors' cars before and after the rally. "Ohakune' s not full of old warehouses that we like to use, and we already close off a lot of roads, so we'd rather not do that," he said. "But we will get around the problem." (He jested that Ohakune New World without the shelving would be ideal — proprietor Alan Murdie being an old friend of the rally.) The decision to scrap the Ohakune Mountain Road stage was unanimous, said Mr Lakeman. Rain, mist and very strong winds — blowing rally signs down : — made the decision to scrap the stage for safety reasons easy. The Karioi Forest stages were closed to spectators for safety reasons, as the rally involved many of the central roads in the forest. With so many minor roads there, it would have been impossible to control spectator movement meaning people could too easily have found themselves in dangerous situations, said course clerks. Russell Harris said they were impressed with the service and facilities provided at the Powderhorn Chateau, despite it being still under construction. "The starting ramp was out of this world — to go to that trouble to build one in keeping with the architecture of the place was just incredible," he said. Other stage sponsors were Acacia Lodge Motel, Alpine Motel, Beechers Lodge, Hobbit Motor Lodge, Ruapehu Homestead, Mountain View Motel, Ohakune Court Motel, Turoa Court Motel and Winstone Pulp International Forests. Mr Lakeman also expressed thanks to the people affected by the road closures for their cooperation; to WPI Forests for the use of their roads; to the Ruapehu District Council staff who helped with road closure formalities and to Sue Allomes for her help in arranging prizes.