Great day for Reeves in Rally of Whangarei

Brendan Reeves has starred in his first international rally, finishing the first day of the Rally of Whangarei  inside the top 10 in the second round of the New Zealand Rally Championship.

Driving a Ford Fiesta ST for the very first time, Reeves and his co-driver, sister Rhianon Smyth, were the fastest Fiesta in seven of the day's eight stages, to finish more than a minute clear of his nearest competitor.

Reeves was second on the first stage of the day by just 0.5 of a second, but quickly got used to the front-wheel drive Ford and was never headed throughout the rest of the day.

The second Heat of the event contains a further seven stages. The Rally of Whangarei is being held north of Auckland in the north island of New Zealand.