South Auckland local and leading New Zealand Rally Championship figure Dylan Turner has confirmed his entry into the Battle of Jacks Ridge and will loom as a major contender in his Audi S1 AP4.
Pukekohe-based Turner has proven to be a major player at the front of NZRC events in recent seasons with his full commitment seeing him battle the country’s best over the past couple of years.
He will look to take that raw speed and full-on attitude into the Battle of Jacks Ridge – the purpose-built stage on former New Zealand champion Andrew Hawkeswood’s Whitford farm.
Turner thinks the event will be a massive hit and believes it will be the perfect fit for the country’s largest city.
“For me it was exciting that we finally have a facility where we can go race nice and close to Auckland,” he said. “We used to have that super stage at Manukau but, for me, to have a purpose-built rally stage built by a rally driver – it was a no-brainer about whether you’d want to do it or not.
“It is going to be nicely cambered corners, there will be jumps, there will be speed – everything we love about rallying and it is going to be contained within a 3km stage.
“Rallying is about jumping cars and going sideways at 150km per hour and you get that at this stage.”
Turner had a small taste of the 3km-long when he featured in a media day a few weeks ago. While it won’t be much of an advantage it has at least given him a glimpse of what lies in store.
“It is special – it really is,” the LJ Hooker realtor said. “The jumps are nicely designed and properly designed – you need to have a good landing area to be confident in jumping the car.
“Then the speed you can come into the corner is just unreal because the exit doesn’t have a pine tree or a drain so you know you can attack the corner hard.
“Even if you come in too hot that camber is going to keep you on the road – it might be a bit slower but it will keep you on the road.
“It really is a driver’s course but it is also a spectator’s course too. The spectators will have an awesome day out.
“In fact if WRC had come I think I would have not entered and just watched the cars go over it – it is that cool.”
The Battle of Jacks Ridge will be broadcast live on Sky Sport on November 15.
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