Two Queenstown entries in this weekend’s prestigious Otago Rally couldn’t be more close-knit.
Not only are the two drivers neighbours, but their respective sons are their navigators — and they’re both racing in B class.
And the similarities don’t end there.
For Alan Garrick, whose navigator is again his son Hamish, and Chris Hogan, who’s joined by his son Charlie, it’s also the fourth Otago Rally for both of them.
In 2019, Alan was third, just pipping Chris, and, last year, Chris finished fourth and Alan was seventh, just ahead of near-neighbour Adrian Jones in eighth.
Alan and Hamish are determined to do better this year in the former’s mid-’90s Toyota Trueno, which will have both a new gearbox and new suspension.
Keeping it in the family: Chris Hogan will be joined by his son Charlie this weekend
Hamish says his biggest buzz is ‘‘making dad go faster and making it to the end’’.
‘‘It’s a great car and it’s fun,’’ says Alan, who didn’t take up rallying till about 2016.
Chris says for his son Charlie, who’s 21, this’ll be his third rally but the first time he’ll be taking full stage notes.
Chris — who says he enjoys ‘‘a very healthy rivalry’’ with Alan — will be driving a 2003 1.5-litre front wheel drive Suzuki Ignis, number plate
‘AGNIS’, which was New Zealand rally ace Emma Gilmour’s first rally car.
Gilmour, incidentally, is one of the favourites for this year’s Otago Rally, which will comprise more than 280km in stages west and south of Dunedin.
