Leadfoot – a word which best describes all drivers present at this year’s festival of International Motorsport legends held in March. Taking place on the driveway of Father and Son combo Rod and Rhys Millen’s family ranch, Motul Sponsored Drift, Circuit and now Hill Climb driver Carl Ruiterman was welcomed into the hall of fame to compete alongside some of his many idols from motorsport history in the newly developed and purpose engineered 2009 Subaru WRX.
Carl was lucky enough to be invited to the prestigious event which is only open to proven motorsport icons – earning the right to compete thanks to his three consecutive NZ Drift Championship titles and multiple national representations in offshore competition. The event was unlike anything Carl or NZ motorsport had witnessed before bringing together a history of vehicles, technology and skill spanning over 100 years. The course – a narrow, steep and tightly winding 1.6km stretch of tarseal kept drivers and vehicles alike on their toes proving a testing task for even the most seasoned and awarded drivers.
Out of 100 drivers, Carl secured a top ten spot after one day of practice and two days of racing. Other competitors in the top seeded ranks consisted of Rod Millen in his Pikes Peak record holding Toyota Celica, Emma Gilmore driving Possum Bourne’s ex Race to the Sky winning WRX and Andrew Hawkswood driving both his Pikes Peak contending Mitsubishi Evo 8 and NZ Rally Championship Audi Quattro. Following the practice and qualifying runs, The racing format changed to an “all or nothing” shoot-out, where the top ten racers had one timed run to place them over all for the entire event. With two days of practice, one near miss and a year of anticipation behind him leading into the event, Ruiterman sliced almost two seconds from his previous best to end up with a 54 second run, knocking Kiwi-turned US based driver Rhys Millen driving in his ‘back-flip’ Tundra out of the top ten. Sadly this was not enough to earn Ruiterman a podium finish but none-the-less the experience and atmosphere is something Carl will never forget. In true but humble fashion Rod Millen took the honours of the weekend with a 51 second run, beating his previous personal best time proving that anything is still possible, and that the Leadfoot Festival will be one to watch for – and travel to in 2013.
www.leadfootfestival.com
