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“No Brakes, Poisoning, A Crash:- Tales From Motogard Rally”

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Description: These images were taken for the September 10th 1978 edition of the Tribune weekly newspaper – the first of which was published with the caption: “Palmerston North's Cam Taylor in action during the rally - poisoning was only one of his problems.”

Excerpts from the article read: “Kimbolton's Alan Mitchell hadn't intended entering last weekend's Motogard rally. But then [came] an emergency telephone call two days before it started. Would he drive Judy Hanbury's car, as she was unavailable? He left for Auckland He left for A straight away. And then he had to work frantically to get the car ready in time for the start a day later. They got the car to scrutineering with a minute to spare, passed and then found the car didn't have any brakes.

More work just before the official start of the rally, and then they were away - it was the first time he had driven the car. The brakes packed up almost immediately, and he drove for two thirds of the 2000 kilometre rally with hardly any brakes at all. But he came in 12th overall. It was the best placing of any of the ‘local’ drivers from the Palmerston North area. His navigator was Pam Mckeown, the car itself was owned by Mike Marshall.”

…

“Palmerston North driver Cam Taylor had one of the most eventful rallies possible - his car's gearbox expired at the start of the first stage, an oil line broke near Taupo and splayed oil everywhere, his seat collapsed periodically (the steering wheel is now an ‘egg’ shape as he hung on to it), the car lost its exhaust five times – and one of his service crew accidentally poisoned him. The poisoning happened at Pongaroa, when a bottle containing what’s thought to be traces of insecticide was given to him to drink instead of a [sic] orange drink. ‘It added to the spice of the night’ he said. He vomited over the next three stages.”

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Vallis Peet's little Toyota Levin is now "bent like a banana" after a crash at Raetihi, just before the rally ally was to go on to Palmerston North. The accident happened near Raetihi, the last stage the Motogard's second division, about 1 a.m. They were travelling flat out down a hill and went into a corner too fast, sliding sideways into a bank. They had illustrious company here, for rally winner Russell Brooke did a 360 degree spin at the bend, Paul Adams shot through a fence, Alan Mitchell went over the bank, and someone's Mazda went over the bank and stopped 400 ft down.”

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“Warren Hislop finished 19th provisionally, and second overall in the 0-1600cc class. They went through a fence on the Saddle Road and rolled "fairly gently" in the Kaiangaroa forest, but apart from that had no major problems not even a puncture. It was his first international rally, and he admits to being "pleasantly surprised" at his high placing They believe they would have been 12th if it had not been for that roll-over (Now the car needs a new roof.)”

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“The Brian Green-Robert Orr RS 1800 Escort hit a rock on the eleventh stage of division one and the car's rear axle broke. The diff housing was so badly bent that the axle couldn't be removed. A wheel was bent, and its tyre was ripped apart as well. And that was the end of the rally for them.”

These images form part of the Manawatū Evening Standard Negative Collection. Unfortunately, only negatives between April and December 1978 are held.