Despite extremely tough competition on Rod and Shelley Millen's driveway at the 2020 Leadfoot Festival, Alister McRae has walked away with another victory.
The Australian-based rally driver piloted the late Possum Bourne’s Vantage WRC Subaru to victory ahead of competitors such as Sloan Cox and Rod Millen himself.
Unfortunately for Millen, a slip-up during the Top Ten Shootout saw his iconic, high-horsepower Celica leave the track and slide back down the grassy bank. After Millen emerged unhurt, the competition carried on.
McRae went on to post a time of 48.31 seconds – which was slightly faster than his quickest qualifying time of 48.5secs on Saturday, but not as quick as his record-breaking 47.99 secs he set last year.
Sloan Cox was a favourite alongside McRae going into the Top Ten Shootout, but just like Millen, a small mistake saw the time-attack Mitsubishi Evo 9 thrown off the track, and out of contention.
While Cox wasn't able to claim the top spot, he did manage to set a new 47.86 second up the hill, which isn't anything to sneeze at.
McRae was philosophical about the win: “You know what you’ve got to do yourself. When people go off, everyone is trying hard. It can happen. It’s quite easy to do. We had a big slide through the trees but we were alright. I’ve been around for a few years now, so you’ve got to take it to the limit but try not to go over it,” he says.
A 100 horsepower bump over last year's figure saw McRae's Subaru pushing close to 900hp, which was more than enough to conquer the 1.6 kilometre driveway. “It’s got to the point now where I don’t need any more horsepower, I just need to drive a bit quicker,” he says, laughing.
New Zealand-born former WRC driver Hayden Paddon managed to claim second position in his zippy little Crosskart. A well-driven run saw Paddon clock in at 49.86, and claim the sub-50 second run he was after.