Mechanical mishaps aside, they enjoyed competing in the New Zealand Rally Championship held in the Auckland area last week and plan to take part again next year.
The clutch started slipping at an early stage of the 13-stage NZRC2 category rally, Tim said.
"We got about 300m from the end and the clutch died, so that was us all over.
"Lauren pushed the car, it was slightly downhill ... all the way down and across the finish line."
The couple have only been rallying for two years, although Tim is from a family of motorsport enthusiasts.
"Dad’s done it since we were kids. We got dragged around all different places to watch car racing," he said.
The couple now travelled with their own children, which was both enjoyable and chaotic.
Tim was behind the wheel of the Ford Fiesta, which the couple had delivered from Ireland earlier this year.
Lauren made pace notes and touring notes, providing her husband with all the information he needed about the roads across the different stages.
Both roles were high pressure, but it helped the pair knew each other so well.
They were both competitive people, Lauren said.
Meeting as teenagers, the pair shared a common interest — downhill mountain bike racing, in which they had both competed at world championship level.
Although still fairly new to rallying, they were old hands at processing the feel of suspension and tyres and reading terrain.
"All our downhill skills cross over quite well to rally," Lauren said.
While in the car, there was no time to think about anything else.
"As soon as it finishes, if you got everything right, it’s a really good feeling."
