Part 5: School of Rocks
Day 1. Saturday. I woke up at 5am on the morning of rally school with my mind racing. I was experiencing a curious combination of forgotten emotions – half 8 year-old me on Christmas day, half 18 year-old me on A-level exam day. I tossed and turned until 7, necked a quick coffee and was off. Two hours down a foggy State Highway 1 later, I arrived at Rally Drive NZ HQ. In true Kiwi tradition, this centre of engineering excellence was a large shed in the middle of nowhere. I stopped for a few moments to admire the phalanx of rally spec Mitsubishis parked on the verge, then headed inside. The cavernous workshop was crammed with rally paraphernalia, well-used tools and cars in various stages of undress. The owner of the Rally School, Dale Perry, was presenting a pristine Mk2 Escort that he had built specifically for the Colin McRae to the students who has arrived early. After introductions and a while chatting about Dale’s colourful 40 year rally history we took to our seats...