Strong Challenge from Roestenburg for King of the Mountain Title
Six times New Zealand Hillclimb Champion Marty Roestenburg hopes his new H6 WRX Subaru Impreza, which is his strongest bid for the King of the Mountain title yet, will put him on the podium at the 2005 Silverstone Race to the Sky at Easter.
The powerful Subaru which has been developed by David and Linda Loughlin of Tauranga is a significant step up from Roestenberg’s Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3 which gave him fifth place last year.
The car is powered by a twin turbo charged 3.0 litre, six cylinder Legacy engine and produces 600-650 horsepower.
“It’s a very exciting car to drive. I’ve never driven anything so powerful,” says Marty. “The first time I jumped in it I trickled down the road for about seven kilometres then gave it a squirt. It was incredible, it was at least a second faster a kilometre than the Evo.”
“The Loughlins had a vision to build a car which would be competitive in the Race to the Sky, and they have been developing it over the last two and a half years, to the stage that it is now capable of achieving their dream. They were looking for someone to unlock the potential and I am pretty excited about the prospect of taking it up the hill.”
Marty has already tested the car on three separate occasions and plans another round of testing at the Waiorau Snow Farm a month before the Race to the Sky.
He is confident the Subaru will be involved in a good shoot out particularly with Kenneth Eriksson in the ex Possum Bourne WRC Subaru, Andrew Hawkeswood in his Mitsubushi Evo 8, superquad expert Ian Ffitch and ex pat Kiwi Rod Millen in his V8 Toyota Hi Lux.
“We may not be fast enough to beat Monster Tajima in his 900hp Suzuki, but this car is the most powerful I have ever raced. It sounds fantastic and screams like a cross between a WRC car and superquad.”
Marty predicts the Subaru will clock around the 8m 30sec mark which should put him in a competitive tussle for second place.
“I would also dearly love to win the Possum Bourne Memorial Trophy for the fastest resident Kiwi. With it being a blue Subaru maybe I will get a bit of help from Poss on the day.”
Marty’s best result at the Race to the Sky was a third placing in 1999. He has also had two fourths and a fifth placing last year.
Event promoter Grant Aitken says it’s great to see cars like the Roestenburg entry being specifically targeted to the Race to the Sky.
“Marty could well be the new Kiwi challenger for the title. Possum is only the New Zealander to date to become the King of the Mountain but with this new package Marty could be well on track to follow in his footsteps.”
Entries in the 2005 Silverstone Race to the Sky have been increased from 100 to 120 to cater for increasing demand from both New Zealand and offshore drivers. Entries close on February 18.
The 2005 Silverstone Race to the Sky is scheduled for Easter Weekend, March 26 and 27 at The Snow Farm in Cardrona Valley, close to Queenstown and Wanaka.
