Tauranga's Phil Campbell is heading to the third round the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Canterbury, the Joe's Garage/Lonestar Rally Canterbury this Sunday.

He's keen to show some new found speed after a bit of a troubled start to his championship campaign.

Phil's Mitsubishi is ready for action this weekend.

Phil endured the biggest crash of his career just five days prior to the opening round and although he finished fourth overall, spent most of the event and half of the following round at Whangarei chasing an ill handling car, something that was later traced to suspension settings that were too stiff.

The problem was rectified for the second day at Whangarei and the stage times immediately reflected that until a rear diff failure ended his day.

For Phil, a strong result is necessary, with the tough start to the season seeing him currently sit 12th in the championship, a far cry from the runner up spot last year.

This time round, with The Roofing Store Mitsubishi now handling the way he likes it, Campbell is confident he can once again stand on the podium.

'I'm really looking forward to Canterbury, it's an event we've always gone well at and with the car handling just the way I like it again, I'm confident we can be fighting for a top result again,” says Phil.

'We really need a good points haul, but after not finishing at Whangarei, we also really need to make sure we finish the remaining rounds.”

Teams will leave Rangiora at 7.40am on Sunday, June 5 and will cover nine stages in the Ashley and Okuku Forests totaling 171km before finishing in Christchurch from 5.30pm.