Tauranga's Phil Campbell has recorded the best finish of his rallying career at Rally Gisborne, not only claiming the fastest two-wheel-drive honours, but also taking out an outright top five finish.

Phil Campbell behind the wheel of his Fiesta.

Off the back of a strong season in the New Zealand Rally Championship that saw him claim third in the two-wheel drive class, Phil entered the non-championship Gisborne event at the weekend to round out his 2011 campaign and got off to a strong start – recording the eighth fastest time on the opening stage and more than 15 seconds faster than the nearest two-wheel-drive car.

On the second stage, the team's biggest problem for the day occurred when co-driver Venita Fabbro became ill, a problem that would haunt her for the remainder of the six stages.

Despite that, and catching the car in front's dust, Phil again piloted the Letts Buildings Ford Fiesta to eighth fastest time.

A sixth fastest time on the next two stages saw the pair move up into fifth place overall and in a battle for fourth, then a best performance for the day of fifth fastest on the stage five saw the 24-year old move into fourth place with only one stage remaining.

Despite setting the sixth fastest time, Phil missed out on the fourth place by only 5.4 seconds, but still claimed a career best fifth place, as well as being more than three and a half minutes clear of the next two-wheel-drive car.

'I'm really, really happy to come away with a top five result,” says Phil.

'The day went really well and I have to thank Venita, she did a great job, especially while she was sick.”