A good friend of mine Cameron Vernon called me one day to ask if I could help out on some rally videos. I’m not overly knowledgeable about rally, I love the idea of it – fast cars racing through gravel tree lined roads putting their lives on the line – but admittedly I didn’t know much about it. Cam told me in the car ride up to Whangarei that Ben was leading the championship, he was rallying in a R4 third generation Subaru WRX STI. A car previously built by NZRC contender Emma Gilmour. The car was reliable, fast, and an all round package, so much so that Ben was winning rally’s by servere margins.

We reached parc ferme and I was introduced to Ben and his team. They greeted me with a treat appropriately named “dogs balls”, a sort of bliss ball of sorts that keeps the team running. With Ben finished for the afternoon the car was cleaned, refueled and refreshed and driven back to the hotel for the night.

Up early, we met the crew at parc ferme. A settling fog lingers around the cars as the smell of high octane fuel provides an almost coffee-like awakening on the cold winters morning. The team has sprung to life checking every aspect of the car. A team used to being surrounded by cameras and media, the crew made no hesitation to just “get on with it”. Ben has completed his morning rituals and is at the start line with co-driver Tony.

We set out to a local coffee shop for breakfast - only one was open. Eggs with a side of bacon, we sipped our coffees and pondered over maps to decide where best to follow the action from. Rally’s often cover hundreds if not thousands of kilometres in one weekend, mean planning is key. Getting on the road the sun came up just as we breached a gravel road north of Whangarei. The road seemed to get tighter and tighter, almost undrivable by some larger vehicles. Soon enough crowds of cars were already parked up and queued along the once dormant road. An exhaust note picks up, curling through the hills and punishing local sheep as they wake up abruptly. Although only the zero car, the sound of the Subaru EJ20 engine is unmistakable amongst rally goers ears.

I level the tripod, fix my camera and get ready for Ben’s arrival. The first batch of cars pass by, some at speed, some with safety on their minds. A blue hue is noticed barreling along the hills behind. Ben enters the sharp corner with a full Scandinavian flick, spraying the officials and spectators with gravel and dust, flying by all as the crowd cheers. “Fuck that was decent aye”

I worked with Ben and his team across 3 seasons of the NZ Rally Championship. From some incredible highs to some near life-ending lows, the team always remained composed and together, and welcomed me on board as one of the team. I travelled around the country with many car rides spent downloading memory cards to my laptop, editing a feature video on the fly and uploading to Facebook. Much like rallying, it was high pressure, fast paced, quick outputting. A brief stop for a pie and we would be back on the road to the next corner, forever chasing rally cars.