Robbie Stokes has capped a dramatic week by taking day one honours at the Vertex Oil International Rally of Whangarei, but championship rival Ben Hunt has provisionally claimed the 2025 Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship.

Hunt (Skoda New Zealand Fabia Rally2 evo) secured his fourth career title when he claimed third place and the three championship points on the power stage (stage 4) on Saturday.

It means he has an unassailable lead in the points.

Stokes (Stokes Motorsport Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo), who lost his win at the previous round due to a breach of the rules earlier in the week, pipped brother Jack Stokes on the final stage of the day to take a 4.8 second lead into Sunday.

The younger Stokes had dominated much of the day in another outstanding drive in the Stokes Motorsport Ford Fiesta AP4, but he dropped seven seconds to his brother in the second pass through the Pohe Island Super Special stage due to his windscreen wiper motor failing right at the wrong moment.

Hunt holds third place, 36 seconds off the lead.

Caleb Macdonald and Larisa Biggar claimed the Rally Challenge 4WD championship by safely finishing the day in their borrowed Subaru Magnum H6, securing enough points to win the title.

Haydn Mackenzie (Toyota Yaris Proto) took the rally class honours after a faultless drive while Ben Huband (Subaru Impreza WRX) and Gavin Feast (Subaru WRX) completed the podium.

Josh Keighley (Subaru Magnum H6) held off the challenge of Kevin Laird (Subaru Impreza H6) to win the Group A Challenge championship and has is now also the Rookie Champion.

Macdonald and Laird (as the Big Belly Rally Team) combined to win the Category 5 Teams Cup.

Bryn Jones (Ford Fiesta Rally4) needs to finish Sunday’s stages to secure the NZRC 2WD championship, but he trails rival Tim Mackersy (Ford Fiesta Rally4) by 37.7 seconds after the opening day.

Deane Buist (Ford Escort) was able to provisionally secure the NZRC Historic title after rival Steve Gill (Ford Escort) crashed out. Buist also failed to finish but has enough points to claim victory.

Tim McIver (Ford Escort) enjoyed a superb day to hold the lead in the class – comfortably ahead of Mike Cameron (Mitsubishi Lancer).

Dave Strong (Honda Jazz RS) was the only starter in the Open 2WD class and secured the title simply by starting the event. He enjoyed a solid day back in his favoured car.

Buist holds a 12 point lead over Jones in the 2WD series, so his advantage is under serious threat if Bryn can finish and take Round points, as Deane can now only add a maximum of 7 Leg points to his total. Therefore If Bryn is able to repeat his performance today, he would overhaul Deane right at the end of the final round.

Jack Stokes may have just missed out on his first NZRC outright Leg Win, but he has become the Junior Champion for the under 25 year olds.

The rally continues on Sunday with a further eight stages.

The 2025 Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship concludes this weekend with the final event on the calendar – the Vertex Oil International Rally of Whangarei.

The week started with controversy with news championship protagonist Robbie Stokes (Stokes Motorsport Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) had been excluded from the previous round – Battery Town Rally Bay of Plenty – due to checking into a service park twice.

After an on-the-day punishment was overturned by a MotorSport New Zealand hearing, Stokes saw his win and four power stage points evaporate and that has had a major impact on the championship showdown at Whangarei.

Defending national champion Ben Hunt (Skoda New Zealand Fabia Rally2 evo) therefore now holds a 41-point lead heading into the event with 44 points up for grabs. Hunt can nab a fourth career title if he was to finish third in the power stage on Saturday or finish the first leg in a podium spot.

Stokes can mathematically win a maiden championship if Hunt were to have major issues early on but even then, the Cantabrian would likely need to sweep the weekend to come out on top.

The Battle

Jack Stokes (Stokes Motorsport Ford Fiesta AP4), Jack Hawkeswood (Force Motorsport Toyota GR Yaris AP4), and Kingsley Jones (Auckland Denture Clinic Skoda Fabia R5) are all capable of pushing for a rally win, particularly with Hunt needing only to finish essentially to wrap up the title.

The younger Stokes has been close to a maiden round win all season while Hawkeswood will (finally) farewell the AP4 Yaris. Jones should not be discounted on roads he will have some knowledge of either, though lack of seat time might see him be more of a podium threat than an outright threat.

Other Classes

Up and down the field we see a final battle for championships.

Bryn Jones (Ford Fiesta Rally4) and Tim Mackersy (Ford Fiesta Rally4) continue their season long battle. Jones has had the edge, albeit slightly, at each event so far. He carries a 20-point advantage into the final round, knowing a finish will be enough. Japanese driver Fuyuhiko Takahashi has entered his Ford Fiesta Rally 4 car for the event too.

Dave Strong (Honda Jazz RS) will effectively become the Open 2WD champion the moment the event starts, with his only class rival not heading north.

Deane Buist (Ford Escort) has dominated the Historic 2WD class all season with some head-turning performances but he will still need to finish to ensure the title is his. Tim McIver (Ford Escort) joins the class this weekend to keep second-placed Stephen Gill (Ford Escort) honest. Mike Cameron (Mitsubishi Lancer) can secure third in the standings if he is able to finish.

Caleb Macdonald will aim to close out the Rally Challenge 4WD class after borrowing a Subaru H6 Impreza off title rival Ben Huband in an astonishing show of sportsmanship. With his car wrecked at Bay of Plenty, Northland-based Huband offered up a spare car so Macdonald can have a crack at winning. The South Islander will take a 10-point lead into the event. Haydn Mackenzie (Toyota Yaris Proto) and Julien Lenglet (Subaru Impreza WRX) will both be contenders for the class win this weekend and can take points from the championship contenders. Josh Keighley (Subaru Impreza H6) holds second place, 10 points behind Macdonald, while Huband and Gavin Feast (Subaru WRX) are both still in the title battle as well.

Ian Warren (Nissan Pulsar) is set to become the Rally Challenge 2WD champion once the event starts, with Thomas Paul not entering. Kyle Percival (Ford Escort) will keep him honest. Keighley holds a narrow six point advantage in the Group A Challenge class but Kevin Laird (Subaru Impreza H6) is right there in what shapes as a great finale.

Keep a close eye on

The new layout. Event organisers have made the biggest change to the layout in years, which will see competitors enjoying roads in the Kaipara Regional down around Dargaville. It will also see crews having to do more remote servicing, which adds to the complexities of the opening day at least.

Best Spectating

You can see the cars up close at the ceremonial opening in downtown Whangarei on Friday night, while the Pohe Island Super Special stage is run twice on Saturday afternoon, and is always an easy place to see the cars in action.

New Zealanders Hayden Paddon and John Kennard are poised to secure their first EROAD Australian Rally Championship title in Tasmania at this weekend’s final round, but the championship’s not yet in bag for the popular Kiwis.  

Having won four of the five rallies so far in their Hyundai i20 Rally2, Paddon and Kennard lead their respective drivers’ and co-drivers’ championships with 470 points, 85 points ahead of closest rivals Lewis Bates and Anthony McLoughlin.

With 100 points available to the winner of Rally Tasmania, plus a potential bonus ten points for the fastest through the power stage, the Kiwis are keeping their focus on doing what needs to be done to win the championship.  

Paddon explains, “The rally result is irrelevant, and we are not even aiming to win the rally. While on paper, it looks that we just have to finish 12th or better, this being an endurance event, means we must finish both days of the rally. This shifts the focus from performance to reliability and safety. To be honest, as a driver, that’s makes it harder. For John and me in the car, it’s about driving fast enough to keep our focus, but also minimising risks, keeping a safety margin in terms of how hard we push.”   

Rally Tasmania takes place 7 to 9 November inland of the northern town of Burnie and comprises 14 special stages and 217.02 competitive kilometres, including the championship’s single, longest stage, a monster 44 km being run twice on Sunday.  

Paddon says the team plans to run the car with a safe setup, carrying more spares, etc.  

“Too much effort has gone into this season by everyone at PRG, working away from home and literally in various workshops around the country, for us not to achieve our core goal for 2025. It would mean a lot to all of us to finish the job off, so that means putting any egos aside for a weekend and just doing what we have to do.”  

Like the previous five rounds of the six-round ARC, Paddon and Kennard have not contested this rally before. They’ll be using their tried and true pace-noting skills during the pre-event reconnaissance runs through each stage to learn all they can about the roads.  

“We don’t know too much about this rally yet, but it does include the longest stage of the season at 44km, so that will be a key stage of the rally in terms of managing tyre wear and strategy.”  

The PRG team also welcome a tour group travelling with them to Rally Tasmania and Paddon is looking forward to sharing the event with many Kiwi supporters.  

Rally Tasmania kicks off with a popular rally show on Friday night on the Burnie waterfront before two days of rally action through various inland roads.  

Keep up with all PRG’s news and results via the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/paddonracinggroup.   

PRG appreciates the support of their partners including Hyundai New Zealand, Caltex Havoline Oil, Mitre 10 Trade, Winmax Brake Pads, Bar’s Bugs, EROAD, Ben Nevis Station, Wipertech, Design Windows, MITO, Repco, Machinery House, King Gee, KiwiFibre, TrailLite, Hankook, Z Energy, Blaster and Signbiz.

Robbie Stokes and Shayne Reynolds have been excluded from the Battery Town Rally Bay of Plenty, the fifth round of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship, an event on which they had taken a provisional victory.

The Stokes Motorsport pairing, who were initially winners of the round, were deemed to be in breach of Article 19 of Motorsport New Zealand’s Schedule R, the articles by which rallying is governed.

“Exclusion: Crews are bound, under the pain of exclusion, to check in at all control points in the correct sequence and in the direction of the rally route. It is also prohibited to re-enter the control area.”

It was at the event's second service park where a moment of confusion saw Stokes enter the service park early, before realising the mistake and returning to the check in point to the service park a second time.

By doing so, Stokes was in breach of the above rule.

After initially being fined $250 for the infringement which saw the victory stand, a Motorsport New Zealand Judicial Hearing held last week found that the only appropriate penalty as per the Motorsport Manual was exclusion.

The result means Ben Hunt and Tony Rawstorn are now declared the winners of Round 5, Battery Town Rally Bay of Plenty, with Jack Stokes and Hayden Graves promoted to second ahead of Jack Hawkeswood and Jason Farmer up to third.

Heading to the final round this weekend, Ben Hunt now sits on 158 points, 41 clear of Robbie Stokes who retains second place, but now on 117, nine clear of Josh Marston in third.

The Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship resumes with the Vertex Oil International Rally of Whangarei on 7-9 November.

In one of the greatest shows of camaraderie the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship has ever seen, Rally Challenge series points leader Caleb Macdonald will get a chance to win a title thanks to a rival.

Queenstown-based Macdonald and Australian co-driver Larisa Biggar endured a horrific crash at Battery Town Rally Bay of Plenty earlier this month that saw their Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6 barrel roll down the road, destroying the car and throwing their title bid into chaos.

The pair hold a 10-point lead over Josh Keighley in the Rally Challenge class heading to the final round at Whangarei next week.

But without a car to compete, it looked like their campaign would end in tears. But along came championship rival Ben Huband, who sits third in the race – just 16 points off the lead.

Huband, who lives in Ruakaka just south of Whangarei, has made his Subaru Magnum H6 available for Macdonald to contest the final round and set up a thrilling showdown that will be determined on the road in a truly gracious act of sportsmanship.

“After the crash at Rally BOP, it became clear that the damage to the EVO was too big to fix and then compete at Whangarei three weeks later,” Macdonald explained.

“Larisa and I had such a good season up to that point, so we were pretty gutted that it looked like we weren’t going to be able to finish the series at the final round.

“Whilst we were a bit downbeat about the crash, we soon started receiving a huge amount of phone calls and messages of support from the rally community - it was really amazing – people were giving us all sorts of encouragement and suggestions to try to get us to the final round.

“One of the people who reached out was Ben Huband.

“Without hesitation, he kindly offered us the use of his Subaru H6 which was already in Whangarei. He said, ‘we need you to be there to finish the season properly – we can’t have it ending with the crash at BOP’.

“So Ben – who is also a competitor in the Cat 5 class and trying to win the championship – has lent us his car - to try to beat him in that same championship – it’s unreal support. There’s few competitors in any sport who would do that for a fellow racer or competitor.

"The man’s a legend!”

Huband doesn’t want any publicity for the gesture – he was reluctant to even comment for this story – but he said it was all about the competition and camaraderie.

“I don’t do it for an advantage – I do it for fun and for a beer at the end,” Huband said of his rallying.

“The only reason I am doing the championship is because I wanted to have more fun with my fellow competitors.

“It is the people – giving some friends a challenge and then having fun with them – that makes me want to compete.”

Macdonald will now battle Huband, Keighley, Gavin Feast and his great mate, fellow Southlander, Kevin Laird in a title showdown at Whangarei. As the series leader if he can cover what they all do, he will still get the championship, but Huband has certainly played his part too.

“So, a big thanks goes to Ben and his team for making this possible – we are truly grateful that we can come to Whangarei to enjoy the amazing roads,” Macdonald said.

“And a big thanks goes to the rally community for all their support since the crash too – we have been blown away by it all.”

Vertex Oil International Rally Whangarei begins with a ceremonial start in the centre of Whangarei from 430pm on Friday November 7.  

Vertex Oil International Rally of Whangarei will enjoy its biggest makeover since it started next month - November 7th - 9th - when the 2025 edition serves as the finale of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship.

Long a fixture of the national championship - since 2006 - the Whangarei-based round will look a lot different this year with a brand-new route and a throw back to some iconic stages from Rally New Zealand’s past.

“We have tried to go back to go forward for the 2025 Vertex Oil International Rally of Whangarei,” rally organiser Simon Bell said.

“The event was getting a bit like a rallysprint with the same stages each year due to the FIA requirements of the APRC. And while they were good, it was also time to give the residents a rest.

“So, the challenge for 2025 was to do something a bit different as we didn't have the APRC to think about. I feel we have achieved that."

The event begins on the Friday with the traditional downtown Whangarei Ceremonial Start, with the cars going over the ramp in reverse seeded order.

Saturday becomes a remote service-oriented day with crews not only focused on servicing their cars but also getting to set up at each Service Park in Dargaville and Ruawai.

“The teams end up at Pohe Island for the two passes over the super stage (first car 5:51pm), but in the reverse direction this year with it starting from the Service Park - so it will be great for the crews to be able to watch,” Bell explained.

Sunday is more of a traditional day with a central Service Park and the Rally Finish at Pohe Island from 3.30pm.

One of the key features is the return of some stages in the Kaipara region, that were regularly used in WRC Rally of New Zealand events in the 1990s and 2000s.

“A huge thanks must go to the NIRS team for paving the way in 2024 with the Ventia Rally of Dargaville Tunatahi and bringing rallying back to the Kaipara District on their gravel highways,” Bell said.

“We hope with the exposure we can bring to the area, through the live streams and the TV3 CRC Motorsport show, we can help open the region up as a place to visit and explore.

“The roads are just incredible. To be honest I have thought of competing myself but sadly the organising team need me fully focused on event. But the Greenhill, Tokatoka and Bull Rd stages are the standouts for me. They are just truly so good to drive, and I will be looking on with a tinge of jealousy over the weekend.

"A massive thanks to the event supporters, as we couldn't do this without them - Vertex Oil, Whangārei District Council, Kaipara District Council, Creme Insurance, Cross Country Rentals, Omega Rental Cars, Traffic Safe NZ and PAK'nSAVE Whangārei."

With the holiday Labour Weekend underway, Entries now close this Wednesday October 29th.

Australians Paul Dowie and his co-driver John Allen have won the 2025 Targa NZ 30th Anniversary in a Porsche GT3RS.

“This event was epic. We’re so glad that we got the real award which is keeping the car in one piece. Thanks to Dustin and the boys at DNG Automotive, and John Allen who is officially retiring so its great to finish on such a high. When we saw that it was over 900 kms we thought we had to do it and rounded up a group of us to come over".

After taking the overall lead after the first stage on day three the pair slowly extended the gap and finished 1 minute 16 seconds in front of Dave Rogers and his co-driver Shane Reynolds in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X RS.

Charlie Evans and co-driver Carol Liston who were driving a Mazda RX7 finished in third place. This included them winning the Category 7 which is for 2WD Allcomers. The last Targa event that Evans competed in was 20 years ago in the same RX7.

Rogers/Reynolds won the Allcomers Competition, while Dowie/Allen also won the Modern 2WD Class. Mark McCaughan and co-driver Lindsay Lyons maintained their lead in the Classic 2WD Competition in their Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 ahead of Chris Barendregt and co-driver Richard Leggett in a BMW E36.

Derek Moore and his co-driver Fleur Pedersen (Audi RS4) took the honours in the two day Regional Rally, with Bruce Herbert and Samantha Cox (BMW 325) finishing second.

The Time Trial was won by Craig Inger and Oliver Going in their Mazda MX5. Siblings Dallis Yates and Alise Inger were second in a Toyota MR2 after yet more family rivalry. Alise noted that this is the first time after seven events that she has not crossed the finish line first. Her husband finished just 4 penalty points in front after taking the lead on the trio of Gentle Annie stages yesterday.

The success of another Targa was summed up by Event Organiser Peter Martin: “We had an act of God this week that threw challenges at us from the start that we wouldn’t normally see, which impacted in terms of the stages that we would usually have run as we don’t normally lose stages, but most of that was out of our control. So the resilience of the team, all the officials and marshals that helped us redirect and keep everything on time was amazing. The pleasure the customers have got out of the event and how they saw the seamless operation is obvious. That’s a real testament to the people and the systems that we have in place to deal with those sort of unexpected things”.

The Paul Dowie/John Allen Porsche GT3RS continue to extend their lead over David Rogers/Shane Reynolds in the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X RS and now have a 58 second buffer. Their aim tomorrow is simply to "preserve our lead and stay focused". Mike Tubbs and Matt Bailey are a further 6 minutes back.

The penultimate day started with the cars traversing the 19km Pohangina Valley stage which is at the foot of the Ruahine Ranges. The cars then travelled north for two more stages before the lunch break and service in Taihape.

They then traversed the Gentle Annies which was split into three separate stages before the final test in Hawkes Bay, although this stage required some assessed times when the Toyota Yaris of Robert Darrington suffered a fiery mechanical issue between the Flying Finish and the Stop Control.

Andrew Oakley and his co-driver Steve Hutchins who had been leading the 4WD Production class had an "Off" in Stage 29 which gifted the lead to the Subaru of Michael Chora and Rachael Ferrante.

Targa regular Martin Dippie was another retirement when he clipped the side of a bridge on Stage 24 rendering the car un-repairable for the final day. This was after the day started with him not being able to find the keys to his Porsche. They were later found in one of his socks.

Bevan Claridge and Campbell Tannock continue to lead the Classic 3401cc and over class but sit in third place in the overall 2WD Classics after the electrical issue which they found to be the fuel pump motor. Although he is now making up ground on the Mercedes of Mark McCaughan he has conceded that it would be an uphill struggle to catch him.

Of the regional entrants Derek Moore, who has Fleur Pedersen co-driving in the Audi RS4 has a lead of 1 minute over Bruce Herbert and Samantha Cox. In third place is David Smith and Ian McKee who are a further 3 minutes behind in third place.

Tomorrow's seven stages will be to the south of Hastings before the ceremonial finish which will be at the Hastings Golf Club.

For the first time during the event there was a new overall leader. Australian Paul Dowie (Porsche GT3RS) was only 1.9 seconds behind David Rogers heading into Leg 3's opening test Ratapiko which was a 22km stage at the foot of Mt Taranaki.

Rogers’s Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10 lost 4th and 5th gears which slowed them significantly. They lost 20 seconds in the stage then temporarily withdrew so that the DNG team could install a new gearbox. With the change only taking two hours they were back for the two afternoon stages where they recorded the third fastest time on both stages.

Andrew Oakley and his co-driver Steve Hutchins are leading the Production 4WD class by 4 minutes although they started to have the rear differential overheat in the morning, but soon found that they just needed to change the oil otherwise the car had been running faultlessly. Second place is the Toyota Yaris GR of Ben and Gus Forrest. Sitting in third is Michael Chora and his co-driver Rachael Ferrante who are in a Subaru WRX STi.

Charlie Evans and his co-driver Carol Liston currently lead the Allcomers 2WD class with a 3 minute lead over Dave Strong and Rob Scott. Strong took advantage of the extended service today to change the axles on his Honda Jazz RS as they were getting close to the end of their lifespan. Amazingly, with all his year's in the sport, this is Dave’s first Targa event. He is usually found with a range of Hondas on gravel rallies. Charlie Evans is also a regular on the gravel.

Long-time Targa competitor Mike Lowe’s team worked on his Volvo240T until 2:30am this morning fixing the engine in Cambridge. He rejoined for the first of the two afternoon stages in the Classic 2WD 3401cc and over Class. Bevan Claridge and Campbell Tannock lead this Class in their Holden Commodore.

Additional cars will join in on the fun tomorrow for the Regional Two Day Targa. This will include four-time New Zealand Rally Champion Bruce Herbert. He will be piloting a BMW 325 with Samantha Cox in the co-drivers seat.

Ultima driver Craig Haysman and his co-driver Jason Page are both recovering in Hospital after their crash yesterday.

The cars will leave Palmerston North Square from 8:30am tomorrow morning and take on seven special stages from AShurst up to Taihape before traversing the Gentle Annie Road before finishing up in the Hawkes Bay.

Day 2's four stages were held between Rotorua and the central North Island township of Wharepapa before the mid-day service and lunch which was provided by Wharepapa South School. Dave Rogers and Shane Reynolds (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10) continued to hold onto the lead at the conclusion of a shortened Leg 2 by the narrowest of margins.

Australian’s Paul Dowie/John Allen in the Porsche GT3 RS won two of the four stages that were run today. This allowed them to eat into Rogers lead to end the day just 1.9 seconds behind.

The similar Mitre 10 Porsche GT3 RS of Martin Dippie and his co-driver Jona Grant are a further 48 seconds back.

In the 2WD Classic’s Mark McCaughan and Lindsay Lyons continued to stretch out the gap to the Ford Escort being driven by Steven Blackley and his co-driver Daniel Newton with a comfortable 3 minute margin. Bevan Claridge has not been able to get on top of the electrical issue that plagued the Holden yesterday and has dropped down to seventh place.

The Volvo of Mike Lowe and Paul Lyons was another car to experience mechanical gremlins. As Mike recalls “Bolt fell out of the wastegate control giving 40lb+ boost and cracked pistons. I posted on Volvo 240 Facebook and within 10min I had someone who I don’t know offer us a complete set of pistons and rods!! We are now at a workshop in Cambridge rebuilding the motor. Never Ever Give Up!!! Hopefully we’ll be done by midnight and will try and make tomorrow afternoon stages”

Within the Targa event is also the Time Trial.

There are six cars entered with their aim of trying to drive as close as possible to a pre-determined time, with penalty points awarded.

The Toyota MR2 driven by Dallas Yates and his sister Alise Inger in the co-driver’s seat currently lead this group. In second place is the Mazda MX5 of Craig Inger and Oliver Going while Des and Ellinor Redgwell are placed third in a Volvo 240GL.

The Event stayed in New Plymouth overnight, ready for another shortened day where, because of the storm damaged roads heading to Taumarunui, they will tackle 3 roads of the Taranaki and Manawatu area, now split by a lunch stop in Whanganui.