Mount Maunganui based rally driver David Holder has secured his second consecutive podium place in as many weeks.

The 24-year-old, who is currently competing at New Zealand's highest level in rallying, claimed third place at the recent Rally Daybreaker.

David then went on to achieve second place overall at the NZ Elite Motorsport Academy the following week.

'It's been a fantastic couple of weeks for the team with Rally Daybreaker being our first event back after the big crash at Whangarei, it was always going to be challenging,” says David.

'To be honest I was freaking out a little on the start line, but we just kept our heads down and focused on ourselves for the day. As it turned out we put in some solid stage times in the process.”

David says it's a promising result for him and his partner Josh.

'Considering it was our first full event together we didn't take long to work well as a team.

The pace we showed is also very encouraging, and gives us a solid foundation to build on.”

Following their rally Daybreaker placing, David was whisked away to Dunedin to take part in the 2013 NZ Elite Motorsport Academy.

The Academy is aimed at preparing New Zealand's brightest motorsport talents with the skills they need to perform at an elite level. It is run with the help of High Performance Sport NZ (HPSNZ).

David says it was a week filled with high intensity challenges both physically and mentally, but more importantly jam packed with learning opportunities for the talented young driver.

'We had access to the best of the best when it comes to athlete coaching and development. Many of the staff we worked with over the course of the week regularly train some of New Zealand's top Olympic athletes.

'One of the evening challenges was to cook for a group of guest judges, one of whom was 2012 World Champion Cyclist Alison Shanks. I'll be honest, I don't think she was blown away by the brilliance of our cooking, but it was great to rub shoulders with her all the same.”

The team is now preparing for the fourth round of the New Zealand Rally Championship, the Rally of Canterbury to be held on August 11.

David says this will be unfamiliar territory for the team, but they are looking for another top performance.