Motorsport: Westy Dominates in Whangarei

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International
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Added: 11-Jun-08

Right from the first stage of the first day of the International Rally of Whangarei, former New Zealand Rally champion Chris West showed the field the way home.

West grabbed the rally by the scruff of the neck, dominating the opening stage by eight seconds, and was never really troubled over the ensuing 15 stages. As much as last year's overall winner Hayden Paddon and Asia Pacific champion Australian Cody Crocker tried, they could not bridge the gap West established early in the rally.

"We set out to get some top stage times from the beginning, which we did, and I couldn't be happier. At the end of the day we pressed on and did what we had to do," said West.

Although kept out of the top spot yet again by a Kiwi driver, Crocker achieved his main aim coming into the rally and now leads the Asia Pacific Rally Championship, two points ahead of Katsu Taguchi with Dean Herridge dropping back to third.

"Our plan was to get into the lead in the championship, which we did, and we've only done two rounds whereas the others have done three," said Crocker.