A total of 29 entries have been received for the second round of the New Zealand Rally Championship in Canterbury on Sunday.
The Lone Star Rally Canterbury will feature a total of 72 cars. The battle between Otago Rally winner Jack Stokes (Skoda Fabia Rally 2), brother and defending Canterbury champion Robbie Stokes (Skoda Fabia Rally 2) and NZRC round winner Jack Hawkeswood (Toyota Yaris Rally 2) will be one of the main focal points.
Quentin Palmer (Skoda Fabia Rally 2), who had a podium at Otago, Pierre-Henri Brunet (Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2), and Nelson Law (Toyota Yaris AP4) complete the NZRC 4WD class.
Ari Pettigrew (Porsche 911) leads the 2WD contenders and headlines the Open 2WD class along with Tim Mackersey (Ford Fiesta) and Dave Strong (Honda Jazz).
Phil Macquarie (Ford Escort), Pat Norris (Toyota Corolla) and Mike Cameron (Mitsubishi Lancer) battle it out in the Historic 2WD class.
Deane Buist, who dominated at Otago, leads the Classics class in his Ford Escort. He will be kept honest by the likes of Derek Ayson (Opel Manta), Ben Harding (Mazda RX7), Paul Cross (Toyota Corolla) and Roger McKay (Ford Escort).
Caleb Macdonald (Mitsubishi EVO 8) and Grant Blackberry (Mitsubishi EVO 10) will continue their rivalry in the Rally Challenge 4WD class.
Joining them in the battle will be Harri Silcock (Mitsubishi EVO 6), Thomas Paul (Subaru Impreza), Josh Keighley (Subaru Impreza), Kevin Laird (Subaru Impreza), Wily Hawes (Toyota Celica) and Terri Taylor (Subaru Impreza. Paul, Keighley, Laird and Taylor will also fight it out for the Group A Challenge class.
A four-way battle in Rally Challenge 2WD looks set to take place between Rory Lawn (Toyota Starlet), Darren Galbraith (Ford Fiesta), Josh Silcock (Ford Fiesta) and Ian Warren (Suzuki Swift).
Lone Star Rally Canterbury kicks off on Saturday night with a ceremonial opening at Lone Star Manchester St in central Christchurch. The full rally gets under way on Sunday (May 31).
-New Zealand Rally Championship
