It was a two-way battle again at the Silverstone Race to the Sky between reigning ‘King of the Mountain’ Monster Nobuhiro Tajima and ex pat Kiwi Rod Millen with the honours going to Tajima.
The scene was set for a head to head clash, when Millen clocked the fastest run in today’s qualifying round in his Toyota Hi Lux, to beat Tajima’s Suzuki Escudo by just over a second.
But Tajima was not prepared to lose his title. He recorded 8.17.84 to win the event for the fifth time, a result which although not as fast as last year’s record of 8.10.02, he was more than happy with.
“Now I want to make it six,” he told the crowd from the podium.
Millen recorded 8.36.84 which was also slower than last year’s 8.32.06. But strong winds buffeting the course caught him at one stage pushing him towards the edge of the road, forcing him to be more cautious.
Third place and the Quad Bike title went to Ian Ffitch who performed consistently over the two days and recorded a time of 8.48.38, a marked improvement on last year’s 8.52.33 result.
Andrew Hawkeswood in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 was fighting hard for a podium finish and ran it close in 8.48.59 but had to be satisfied with a fourth placing. He finished seventh overall in his other entry, a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6.
Marty Roestenburg also turned in an impressive performance after being out of competition with injury. He was fifth in 8.50.69 in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3.
A record crowd turned out for the two-day event which was run as a memorial to Possum Bourne. Proceeds from gate sales are being donated to the Possum Bourne Family Trust.
It was an emotional moment for Ffitch when he was presented with the inaugural Possum Bourne Memorial Trophy as the fastest resident Kiwi. He says winning the trophy means more to him than anything else he has achieved in his racing career.
“Possum was an awesome guy and everyone looked up to him. I’m blown away by this.”
In presenting the trophy Possum’s wife Peggy thanked the Race to the Sky organisers for honouring Possum and reiterated that it had always been his favourite event.
“He loved it and would never have missed it. Please don’t forget him.”
The hard luck story goes to Sweden’s Kenneth Eriksson who was in fine shape as he flew through the early part of the course in the Possum Bourne WRC Subaru. But the mechanical troubles he encountered through the practice and qualifying runs, continued to dog him and he had to withdraw around the halfway mark.
His split times were fast and he was expected to achieve a good overall result. It was disappointing for the former World Rally Championship driver who wanted to win the race in memory of Possum
Greg Murphy has the Race to the Sky bug after his first event. He intends to return next year with a purpose built Holden capable of racing to win. While his Holden Ute Commodore was not competitive with the top end of the field, he proved to be a hugely popular competitor, reinforcing his role as one of New Zealand motorsport’s best ambassadors.
Craig Hyde of Invercargill did not disappoint retaining the Race to the Sky Motorcycle title in 9.25.8. and finishing 13th overall. It is the sixth time Hyde has won the title.
