The Star: September 15, 2016

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Sport
Thursday September 15 2016
Weekday coverage of local sport
with Gordon Findlater
The Star
Mon-Fri bulletins: 5.30pm, repeats at 7pm and 9.30pm
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Young rally sprint talent
• By Gordon Findlater
AT JUST 17-years-old Ari
Pettigrew is proving to be one of
the country’s brightest up-andcoming
motorsport talents.
Rallying is in the blood. His
father Dave Pettigrew has been
a part of the sport for decades
and now co-drives for Ari. Yes
his father is a fan of Finnish rally
driver Ari Vatanen, hence the
name.
Ari Pettigrew
(left) has only
been rallying
for a year and is
wasting no time
adjusting to the
sport. In August
he finished fourth overall at the
Catlins Coast Rally.
Snow made for challenging
conditions, with many older
and more experienced drivers
struggling to stay on the road.
Pettigrew thrived under the
challenge, finishing fourth and
winning his class by over four
minutes.
“We never looked at the results
during the day, so when they
told us where we had finished
we never believed them,” said
Pettigrew.
The 17-year-old’s first taste of
FLYING HIGH: Ari Pettigrew is setting the bar high with hopes
of making it to the WRC. This weekend he will return to the
Ashley Forest Rally Sprint where he first raced 12 months
ago. ​
driving came at just four when
he got a drive in a grass-kart.
He has since gone on to claim
a number of South Island and
national grass-karting titles.
“The grass-karting experienced
helped in Catlins. You’re
not used to having much grip on
the grass which helped me in the
snow,” said Pettigrew.
This weekend Pettigrew will
return to the event where he
began his rallying journey at the
Ashley Forest Rally Sprint. This
time around he’s hopeful of being
amongst the top two-wheeldrive
runners.
Expect to see his name on the
rally scene in years to come. The
ultimate goal for the Rangiora
driver is to make it to the World
Rally Championship, while next
year he’s planning on running in
the national championship.
Former Canterbury
players in NSW final
TWO CANTERBURY rugby
league products are just one
win away from making it to the
grand-final of the New South
Wales Cup.
Fa’amanu (Nu) Brown and
Matt McIlrick were both part
of the Newtown Jets team that
defeated the New Zealand Warriors
NSW Cup team 22-18 in an
elimination final.
Brown played his early rugby
for the Hornby Panthers, but
New Zealand age group coach
Jeff Whittaker invited him to
trial at the Halswell Hornets
academy, which had a sister club
link with the Cronulla Sharks at
the time.
He cracked Cronulla’s firstteam
in 2014 playing 14 games.
However, his career was struck
a blow during last year’s Auckland
Nines tournament when he
suffered a season ending anterior
cruciate ligament injury.
Jets captain, McIlrick, 24,
played his junior rugby for
Halswell and was offered a contract
with the Canberra Raiders.
He, like Brown, has now played
a number of NRL matches over
the last two years.
ONE WIN AWAY:
Christchurch born Nu Brown
will play in the NSW Cup
preliminary final on Sunday. ​
Brown and McIlrick’s Newtown
Jets meet the Illawarra
Cutters on Sunday for a place in
the grand-final.
On the local front, the Canterbury
Bulls host their first home
game of the New Zealand Rugby
League Premiership this Sunday.
They will play the Wellington
Orcas at AMI Stadium, kick-off
is at 4pm.
1503AM