Shane van Gisbergen has missed out on the bulk of his return round in the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship due to an electrical problem.
The WRC2 podium finisher failed to even make it to the start of Special Stage 1 in the International Rally of Whangarei, with the #2 Audi S1 AP4 listed as a retirement on TS1 (Tour to Special Stage 1) due to ‘Electrical’.
It was later confirmed that the issue was a main electrical system fault, which eventually saw the fitment of a replacement module from a spare car located in Auckland.
In a sign of what could have been, van Gisbergen got back on-track for the afternoon’s two runs of the 1.15km Pohe Island test and was second only to Hayden Paddon in each of those stages, by margins of 1.2s and 1.5s.
The three-time Supercars champion can at least resume tomorrow with confidence that his technical problems are resolved.
Paddon won all 10 stages of the first leg in his Hyundai i20 N Rally2 and leads by 2:18.4s overall.
Ben Hunt sits second and Raana Horan third, both driving Skoda Fabia Rally2 cars.
Van Gisbergen has become a semi-regular presence in New Zealand rallying in recent times but, speaking before competition got underway in Whangarei, was modest about being seeded second for the event.
“It is a compliment to be seeded second but it is a bit higher than I thought I should be,” he said.
“This is the first of four [NZRC] rounds for us this year and the roads look awesome.
“We obviously want to be competitive, but we need to get to the end of the rally.
“Realistically I don’t think we will be pushing for fastest stage times or anything. Having Hayden competing is the perfect comparison to measure ourselves against.
“Certainly not aiming for his times as he is a full WRC-level driver but just seeing how far away from him we are will be good.
“As I get more familiar with the car and get more miles under my belt, we can push a bit harder.”
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