Ministry of Dirt driver Patrick Malley has narrowly missed a podium finish for both day two and the round in the Gull Fuels Mitsubishi Evo 9 at the International Rally Whangarei.
The first day brought dry conditions and Malley ended an intense battle with Chris West tied to the tenth of a second. The weather took a turn for the worse for day two and with the 26 year-old was at an immediate disadvantage having only medium compound tyres available rather than the preferred soft compound.
On the opening stage, Malley was fifth fastest and did the same on the second stage. As the weather got worse, Malley’s speed got better and after a third fastest on the day’s fourth stage, entered the service park in fourth place, within striking distance of third.
The afternoon comprised of the same four stages as the morning and with a set up change, Malley was confident of some strong stage times and only once set a stage time outside the top five in the whole afternoon.
Heading into the final stage, Malley was battling hard for fourth place with Dean Sumner, the pair separated by a mere two seconds. Although he lost out to Sumner, Malley inherited fourth place with the retirement of Chris West, despite a close call of his own in conditions that resembled a swimming pool.
The result combined with yesterday’s third equal saw Malley take fourth for the round, again conceding the podium spot to Sumner, this time by a miniscule tenth of a second.
“It was a great battle today in what were really trying conditions,” said Malley, “we had a few moments of our own and at the end of the day we just missed out on the podium which is a shame, but all in all we are happy.”
After three rounds of the New Zealand Rally Championship, Malley sits fifth and will look to improve that position at the next round, Rally Nelson, from 21-22 August.
– Credit: BB Media.