Oliveira had to cope with different road conditions in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC serviced by the Stohl Racing team. He set a cautious pace in the 25.24km Kineta special stage which enabled him to clear the section without problems, although he had to take out the best from him to keep the car on the road.

"It was an extremely difficult stage; there were very fast sections and some others very twisty. The asphalt portion was very slippery. It was very difficult at the beginning. I tried to do my best", said Daniel after he completed the stage which also featured some asphalt sections. "My target is to finish but we will see first the special stages first. We need to see how hard it's going to be for the car. For sure today was a tough opening", he added.

This morning Oliveira and Magalhaes completed the qualifying stage near the base of the event in Loutraki setting the 11th fastest time. This enabled them to choose the 3rd slot in the starting order for today and tomorrow's stages. There was a bit of rain in Loutraki this morning and tomorrow slight rains are forecasted in the remote service zone in Itea.

Then there was an 80-kilometre liaison trip from Loutraki to the capital Athens, where the ceremonial start took place, just in front of the well-known Zappion. Immediately after this, the drivers headed to the East to tackle the first stage, which was on the way back to the base of the event.

Tomorrow's route. On Friday, Oliveira will have the opportunity to visit some of the most classic stages in Greece used for the last time back in 2008, like "Bauxites" and "Drossohori". The action starts very early in the morning at 06:53.

There are five stages scheduled for tomorrow, with a single run through two of them: the first stage Aghia Marina and the Drossohori stage. The first three stages are on the way to the first remote service in Itea. The next tw o stages will take place around the city, before another stop in the remote service. Finally, there are three other stages remaining on the way back to Loutraki.

It is the longest day of the event with 169.12 competitive kilometres and 537km of liaison.

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The championship will have a presence too; at the event to support Mark Donnelly, Gethin Jones, Jussi Kumpumäki, Garry Pearson and Osian Pryce, all of whom will drive their respective cars up the tricky stage over the festival weekend.

The drivers will attend Goodwood as a result of their class and overall victories on the opening BRC event of the season, Rallye Sunseeker International, a money-can’t-buy reward courtesy of the rally organiser Southern car Club (SCC)

As well as the BRC competitors, the championship will share the service area with the International Rally Drivers Club (IRDC). The club, which was formed in 1969, aims to enhance communication between those involved in the sport, and to promote, advance and protect national and international Rallying in the interests of competitors and organisers.

Southern Car Club’s Rick Smith:

“We are proud to be organising the rally stage at the Goodwood Festival of Speed again and this is the second year that we have arranged for prize-invitations for BRC class winners from Rallye Sunseeker.

“It is a fantastic spectacle and the quality and range of drivers, cars and experience that will be represented, both on the hill and on the rally stage, helps make it arguably the best motoring event in the world.”

BRC Manager Mark Taylor:

“We are so grateful to Rick and the team at Goodwood for arranging these invitations to the Festival of Speed. It is such a high profile event that it can’t fail to raise the profile of not only the drivers, but further enhance the profile of such an important series as the British Rally Championship.”

But before they get to Goodwood, the drivers and their co-drivers have another important engagement to fulfil. The fourth round of the MSA British Rally Championship, the Jim Clark International Rally, takes place over the Jubilee weekend on the closed public roads around motorsport legend Jim Clark’s home town.

So with just three weeks between this and the Goodwood Festival of Speed, they will all be hoping for trouble-free runs in the Scottish Borders.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed begins on Thursday 28th June with the Moving Motor Show, then continues over Friday, Saturday and Sunday, gates opening at 7am each day. For more information visit www.goodwood.co.uk/festival-of-speed

For more information on the MSA British Rally Championship visit www.rallybrc.co.uk

Having contested the Acropolis Rally on nine previous occasions with four podium finishes and a win with Ford in 2009, Hirvonen was the perfect candidate to share his experiences and advice of the Greek stages as well as his long career competing at rallying’s highest level in the World Rally Championship (WRC).

In an informal discussion with the WRC Academy competitors, the Citroën driver was able to share his advice and tips as he gave the crews another perspective on both the event and rallying in general. The Finn provided the youngsters with a whole host of recce tips on an event where detailed pacenotes will prove vital as well as discussing the route he took from national rallying in the Finnish National Championship to competing in the international field.

Mikko Hirvonen said:

“I think the WRC Academy is a very good initiative and a very good series for young drivers to be involved in. It is a great way to gain experience of the WRC and learn how to compete on a range of events.

“All the [WRC Academy] guys are really enthusiastic and eager to learn and they seem to have learnt a lot already. The WRC Academy is certainly a very good stepping stone for the future.”

Jose Suárez said:

“The session with Mikko [Hirvonen] was very informative and we learnt a lot from him. It was a great opportunity to speak to someone at his level and gain some tips and advice from someone at the top of the sport – something that we would never have had the chance to do outside of the WRC Academy.

“For me, the best piece of advice he gave was about second stage passes. In Greece we will do no repeat stages in the WRC Academy, so to get his perspective on this and understand just how much the terrain changes will for sure be very useful in the future.”

Supported by Ford Racing in Europe and with control tyres from Pirelli, the WRC Academy kick-starts with a 25 km Super Special this evening where the crews will be looking to put all of Hirvonen’s advice into practice.

This year's annual black tie function was held at the Sky City Convention Centre and brought together all facets of New Zealand Motorsport to recognise the various national championship winners from the last twelve months.

"It's a great to get the opportunity to formally recognise what you have achieved and to be acknowledged by your peers," said Richard, "and to get a chance to celebrate with the people who have helped realise your goals is awesome."

So the quick 24 hour trip to Auckland was immediately followed up by a day of packing as the BNT Mason Motorsport team had to be on the 8am Tuesday Interislander sailing to Picton as they wended their way south to Dunedin for round 3 of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship [NZRC], powered by Brother - the Drivesouth Rally Otago - which starts this Friday (May 25th).

But the long trip south has been made all the more enjoyable as the Masterton Flyers have learnt that their record breaking 7th win at last month's Trust House Racetech Rally Wairarapa has seen them create another piece of New Zealand rally history, as their 17th round win together now makes them the most successful rally crew in the 37 years of the NZRC.

"We are very proud of our achievements since we joined forces in 2005," said Richard, "and we hope there are a lot more to come, none more so than the goal this weekend of taking the lead in this year's championship, which we see as being very significant at what will be the halfway point in the series."

The Masons' record at Otago is almost unmatched, 3 consecutive round wins from 2006 to 2008 and ironically their 4th last year was the only time they have missed finishing on the podium since 2005.

In fact a 4th win would see them move clear of the other two 3-times winners Geof Argyle and Chris West, and equal with Southland's Barry Robinson who steered his Vauxhall Chevette to victories in 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1991.

"We've definitely got the BNT STI going fast, but whether it's fast enough remains to be seen," continued Richard, "because the Otago rally is quite different to other events in New Zealand.
“The undulations in the roads, the crests and you run along ridge-tops before dropping into gullies. Roads in other areas tend to follow the hillside rather than going up over the top of them – that makes Otago quite interesting. Plus the road surface can be quite a mixture; it could be really loose gravel or really hard – you don’t know until you get there,” says the three-time Kiwi champion.

“I like the tighter roads, like Waipori Gorge (SS17, 13 km), the final stage of the rally, that’s a really challenging one. And Kuri Bush (SS14, 15 km and the Power Stage for this round), that is just awesome. It's the closest thing to rallying in Finland - a real rollercoaster - it's grouse.”

The Drivesouth Rally Otago begins at 615pm with the Ceremonial Start in the Octagon followed immediately by 3 stages to be run on the Friday night.

Saturday sees the rally head north of Dunedin for eight stages, the majority inland from Palmerston. The day then concludes with the popular tarmac stage around the streets of Dunedin’s wharf area, by the Anzac Avenue overbridge and the new covered Stadium.

Sunday provides a further six stages, three of which are over 25km in length, the longest of which is the penultimate 44.15km stage through the Berwick Forest.

The rally finishes on Sunday afternoon at the historic Dunedin railway station, with the first car due shortly after 4:30pm.

BNT Mason Motorsport are very proud to again have the support of BNT, Hopper Construction, Dunlop, B.W.O’Brien, The PC Factory, ScottSpeed Performance Engines, Geartech, MCA Suspension, Pagid, Randall & Associates, Quality Foods and Tom’s Auto Services, without whose invaluable assistance they would not have been able to embark on their eleventh consecutive year as a leading contender in the NZRC - and now as TRIPLE CHAMPIONS.

At the beginning of 2011, Jansen and his PMTMotorsport Team had worked long and hard - at times in very difficult circumstances as the earthquakes were at their strongest and most devastating - to prepare their newly acquired MITECH WELDERS Subaru, only to be tripped up in the most mechanically damaging way possible in the dark just 3 minutes into their very first special stage.

"We were really looking forward to getting to grips with our new car on the awesome roads that Otago is renowned for," said Matt, "but one key element we overlooked was that the [driving] light pod that came with the car was the wrong one for our model Subaru. So wrong in fact that it severely restricted the airflow through the scoop on the bonnet, so it wasn't long into that first stage that temperatures started to soar and the engine was terminally damaged - putting us out for the entire weekend."

And Rally Otago has proved to be tough on the 24 year old since he finished second in the 1300cc Classic class, in his trusty Datsun 1200 Coupe, on debut back in 2005.

"We are certainly looking for a change of fortune at Otago, having experienced an array of problems in the six years since 2005," continued Matt, "so our approach this weekend is to stay 'clean and tidy' and to go at our own pace to ensure we leave with the maximum [NZRC] points possible. This is particularly important considering that we will have only two weekends to prepare the car before it has to head north for the next round [WRC Brother Rally New Zealand - June 21 -24]."

The Drivesouth Rally Otago is one of the most popular events on the New Zealand rally calendar, and after the Ceremonial Start in the Octagon will again include 3 stages to be run on the Friday night.

Saturday sees the rally head north of Dunedin for eight stages, the majority inland from Palmerston. The day then concludes with the popular tarmac stage around the streets of Dunedin’s wharf area, by the Anzac Avenue overbridge and the new covered Stadium.

Sunday provides a further six stages, three of which are over 25km in length, the longest of which is the penultimate 44.15km stage through the Berwick Forest. The rally’s nominated ‘power stage,’ for which bonus championship points are on offer for the three fastest competitors in each category, is the 15.11km rollercoaster Kuri Bush which is reverred for it's blind crests and brows and the closest New Zealand rally stage to the world famous 'yumps' seen in Finland.

The rally finishes on Sunday afternoon at the historic Dunedin railway station, with the first car due shortly after 3.00pm.
Matt would like to take this opportunity to welcome Stadium Finance into his group of partners and supporters from this event.

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This year's NZRC campaign would not have been possible without the dedicated support of Mitech Welders, PMT Motorsport, Dunlop, Armstrong Subaru, Stadium Finance, Blue Bridge & Strait Shipping, HGM Construction, Pagid Brake Pads, and ScottSpeed Performance Engines.

With new sponsor Stella Traffic onboard, the brother’s aim to compete in all rounds of the 2012 NZRC, is now in sight. Stella Traffic supply a range of temporary traffic management solutions, and are actively helping in the rebuild of Christchurch.

“We are stoked to have Stella Traffic onboard with us, we needed this boost, and to be fair we wouldn’t have made it to Otago without them” states Dave.

Holder is currently leading the Rookie and Open 2wd classes in the NZRC and enjoying the ride. With their excellent result last year at Otago, coming 3rd overall in the Allcomers rally, and with new competition in their class in the extremely fast and experienced Tony McConachy, their expectations are high for a closely fuelled competition at this years event.

The Drive South Otago Rally is being held this weekend 25th-27th May.

Please follow Holder Brothers Racing at their web page, with live on event updates being posted between racing stages. www.holderbrothersracing.com

Holder Brothers Racing would like to thank the following companies for their support:

Stella Traffic, Attentive Design, Mount Wheel Alignment and Service Center, Bay Panelbeaters, Mount Repco, Speedy Signs, Mount EDL, Sew Hot Monograms, Kayne Barrie Motorsport, Monit Rally Computers and also Rising Stars Scholarship supporters, Gull Fuel, Dunlop Tyres and Rally New Zealand.