With less than two weeks to go, the Hamilton based EX Lancer Motorsport team of Tony Differ and Jayson Stringer have their sights set on taking out Class D for 2001cc & Over 2WD cars in the 2026 North Island Rally Series (NIRS) in their inaugural season. To make their year even more remarkable, they also sit second overall in points across all classes registered for the NIRS championship.
Having taken ownership of the iconic 1981 Mitsubishi Lancer from Bruce Herbert late in 2025, Differ has re-ignited his passion for rallying and there are no signs that his indisputable talent behind the wheel had left him after a 28 year hiatus. Co-Driven by good friend Jayson Stringer, the pair have proven to be a formidable duo as they have found themselves producing podium finishes in every round they have competed, including a first-in-class at the recent Rally Taumarunui.
They key to their success thus far has been a combination of speed & reliability, with a 100% finish rate throughout the 2026 season. The EX Lancer has proved to be somewhat of a beast in the stages, and development throughout the year has tamed some of its previous “habits” making it more predictable to drive at speed.
“Yeah she can be a handful at times” explains a smiling Differ. “We’ve made a lot of changes to how the suspension works and also to the power delivery to make it more suited to my driving style. How Herbie (previous owner Bruce Herbert) drove it so quick is all a bit of a mystery to be fair”.
Heading into the Battery Town Rally Bay of Plenty on October 31 the equation is quite simple. Finish the event and win the Class championship outright for 2026. For an overall series podium to stay within reach the task is going to be significantly harder as they will compete head-to-head against modern 4WD machinery, including the latest spec Skoda Fabia WRC2 car driven by current points leader Quentin Palmer.
The Battery Town Rally Bay of Plenty gets under way Friday October 30 with a ceremonial start from 5:30pm in The Strand in Whakatane (all competing cars will be on display from 4pm) before tackling 160km of Special Stages throughout Saturday, SS1 starts at the early time of 6:53am.
Photo Credit - A Little Bit Sideways
