Changes for Unterberger

With only a month to go before the opening round of the New Zealand Rally Championship at Otago, Nelson's Dominick Unterberger and his Excelsior Rallysport team have announced major changes for their NZRC 2010 campaign.

Looking forward to the year ahead in the newly-acquired BNT Subaru, formerly driven by Richard and Sara Mason, Unterberger will also have a change to the in-car team as Taranaki's Sarah Coatsworth brings her years of experience to the co-driver's seat.

Testing has already begun, with the first outing for the pair being the Whariti Hillclimb held in Woodville at the end of last month.

"As planned, it was time well spent getting used to the car and its capabilities," Unterberger said.

"These are big changes this year with a new car and co-driver, but I am now feeling confident going into Otago."

With the first round for the championship coming up on April 10-11, the Excelsior Rallysport team are now fully focused on preparing both the car and themselves for the event.

"We want to be able to have the car and ourselves settled and ready, so come Otago we can absorb as much as possible from what will be a major learning experience amid some very serious competition."

Coatsworth added: "If it hadn't been for Configure Express New Plymouth helping me with my fitness and nutrition after having given birth to Marcus five months ago, I would have been right behind the eight ball at the start of the season, but now I am ready and raring to go".

The Excelsior Rallysport team would like to thank: Dominick's parents, Gary and Kit from Alltrax NZ, Alexandra and Leighton from the Alpine Lodge Nelson Lakes National Park, Francis from Novus Auto Glass – all from Nelson, and their new mentors for 2010 – Richard and Sara Mason and the BNT Mason Motorsport Team from Masterton.

- © Fairfax NZ News