Jagger Eyes Rally NZ to Push Hard for 2010

Group N 2WD champion of 2009 Ben Jagger will be looking at this weekend's Rally Otago as his best opportunity to get up to speed for the 2010 season after only limited testing in the team's new SeedForce Subaru WRX.

"We will use Otago to get some miles under our belts and then at Rally New Zealand we will give it more of a push." says Jagger.

A shakedown at the Ruarangi Hillclimb in Whangarei just a week ago was the first time Jagger was able to get behind the wheel to put the rally car through it's paces prior to his rise into the four wheel drive category of the Vantage Aluminuim Joinery New Zealand Rally Championship this weekend.

"We had a little play with it on the farm but that was the first time we were able to really drive it in anger. It all pretty much fell into place when I jumped in the car but there was still a bit to get my head around with how much power it has over the Fiesta where you used everything you've got."

"In the Subaru there's always a little bit more left in it but after a few runs I was starting to get the hang of it and push a lot harder." he said.

It will be a huge season for Jagger moving up into the top echelon of New Zealand rallying competing in a four wheel drive Group N rally car. But will be all the more exciting with him competing in not just one but two international events this year which are both taking place in front of local supporters in his home town of Whangarei.

In July the Asia Pacific Rally Championship returns to the region for the fourth time bringing with it international competition once more for the locals to test their skills against.

Also this year the World Rally Championship returns to New Zealand after a one year hiatus with Rally New Zealand taking place over the weekend of May 7-9.

The rally will compete the first day in the Whangarei region on Friday and be based in the city's town basin with excellent opportunities for spectators including driver signing sessions at the basin and aerial passes over the iconic Hella Bridge near Paparoa as well as other exciting stages.

The rally will then head to Franklin and Waikato for the next two days of the fifth round of the WRC before heading to Rally Portugal at the end of the month.

The rally will be based in Auckland on Queens Wharf and will have Super Special Stages at both the Auckland Domain and Hampton Downs Motorsport Park.

"It will be wicked and Whangarei will be going off I'd say." said Jagger.

The Vantage Aluminum Joinery New Zealand Rally Championship of 2010 will comprise of five rounds altogether with Rally Nelson and Rally Wairarapa holding the final two spots on the calendar which wraps up in September.

Ben Jagger will be getting an idea of where he stands this weekend as he takes the plunge into the big picture of New Zealand rallying going head to head with drivers such as Emma Gilmour, two time champion Richard Mason and past foe in the two wheel drive class Patrick Malley who has also stepped up to the four wheel drive competition.

"It's really hard to guage where I am at compared to the other drivers so I'm really looking forward to seeing how we go this weekend. But for this round my goal is to be in the top 10 and then later on in the season I will be aiming at the top five." he says.

This weekend's Rally Otago will begin in Dunedin with a pre-event motorshow on the 9th with the opening stage getting underway near Oamaru on Saturday the 10th using roads unknown to the competitors making for an even playing field for newcomers such as Jagger.

A tar sealed Super Special Stage will be held in front of an expected sizable crowd of spectators in Dunedin on Saturday afternoon with a return to well known roads for an exciting conclusion to the rally on Sunday.