Two rounds down and the gap at the top is just two points, already with 17 points back to third.

A win and a second each mean the two Jacks – Stokes and Hawkeswood – have become the firm favorites to fight it out for the GoldStar and the overall Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship for 2026.

Such has seen the closeness of the titanic battle between these two, they have completed the 413kms – in 25 high-speed special stages at Otago and Canterbury – just 26.2 seconds apart, in Jack Hawkeswood’s favour. 26 of those were at Otago and just 0.2 seconds at Canterbury.

I mentioned last time that, along with Robbie Stokes, these three front runners were almost always within 10 seconds of each other in stage times at Otago. Well, it was even closer at Canterbury and, after Robbie’s convincing win up Mt Grey Road in Ashley Forest and when the first of his off-road excursions early in Stage 2 took him out of the running, the two Jacks were within six seconds of each other on each of the remaining eight stages.

Jack H has won 14 of the 25 stages run so far, with Jack S fastest on just five. Of the remaining six tests, Robbie has won five and Quentin Palmer showed an amazing turn of tarmac speed to win the Ruapuna Circuit stage.

The Stokes siblings have a power stage win apiece, with Jack H placing 3rd at Otago and 2nd at Canterbury with Jack S beating him on both occasions. So, as they each won a Leg at Otago, it’s only those two Power Stage results that separate the pair and have given Jack S his current 2-point lead.

Therefore, expect an enormous focus at lunchtime on Saturday on the 26k of Stage 4 Pine Bush, as it is this round’s power stage. Crews will also have to be fast out of the blocks for Stage 2 Wyndham Valley (17.5k), as it is the reserve power stage should anything happen that compromises the results for Stage 4.

So, Robbie finds himself stuck down in 19th on the championship table on the eight points he earned from 3rd for Otago’s Leg One and winning the Otago power stage through Kuri Bush, which means he is giving brother Jack a 60-point head start that would require a miracle to come back from, particularly given the form and pace of the front pair.

Therefore, the only realistic way for Robbie to salvage anything remotely satisfying this year is to win as many of the four remaining rounds as possible.

However, the priority for Stokes Motorsport must now surely be to ensure Jack S wins the championship, so don’t be surprised if Robbie is asked/told/instructed to take on the role of ‘riding shotgun’ for his younger brother, with the objective of taking as many points as possible off Jack Hawkeswood by getting between the two of them come the end of each round.

All this sounds good in theory, but there are a couple of other very rapid NZRC drivers who are currently waiting in the wings to take advantage of any sort of slip up by the leading duo.

Similarly Skoda-mounted Quentin Palmer has had a near-faultless run through the first two rounds, completing the NZRC podiums on both occasions, to be in third place and, as long as he doesn’t repeat his Chris West impersonation at Canterbury when the gearlever snapped, he can be expected to be on course for a trifecta of podiums come Saturday afternoon.

Ari Pettigrew has had his brand new self-built Porsche absolutely flying through the stages in what can only be described as giant killing performances – finishing comfortably 4th overall at both rounds, with 19 (out of a possible 25) top 5 stage times across the two events.

And now there’s also Four Times GoldStar Champion (including last year) Ben Hunt, who has had one of the shortest retirements on record in any sport, and following his (non-NZRC) 5th Place at Canterbury – in his 2019 title winning Subaru – he and Tony Rawstorn are welcomed back for even more at Southland, this time NZRC registered, in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally Cup car.

As the defending NZRC champions they will carry # 1 but are expected to start behind Ari Pettigrew on Saturday morning.

So, apart from being at a significant points disadvantage, all 4 of these drivers have a great opportunity to influence the outcome of this round – and the championship – should either, or both the Jacks falter for any reason.

The rally route repeats last year’s Wyndham Rally for the first six stages with the final one, Dunsdale at 22k long, using sections of roads traversed in the Southern Lights Rally in 2024. Fast flowing wide roads are a feature that far south with some of the highest average speeds anywhere in the championship.

With recced stage notes being used this time, the pace is sure to be even greater, however the stage times posted could well be similar to those recorded in the ‘blind’ Wyndham rallies, as half the stages will have virtual chicanes in place electronically to slow the cars down for short distances.

The weather forecast is looking at best damp for the leadup and wet on the day, but at least there is a chance of double-digit temperatures rather than frosts, so faster stage times than those set by last year’s winner Caleb Macdonald, Carter Strang, Mark McMillan and James Worker could be hard to come by – for anyone other than Car 20 Hayden Paddon, who will start first car on the road in the freshly rebuilt Hyundai i20N Rally2 after Alex Rullo’s retirement-inducing accident at Otago.

It’s interesting to note that, apart from the suicidal kangaroo incident at Canberra last year, this car has only DNF’d twice in the five seasons HP has had it – and both times it’s been when others have been driving, and both times at Otago. Gaurav Gill was the other one at Otago in 2024.

OTHER NZRC CATEGORIES

It was déjà vu in the 2WD Championship at Canterbury, as Ari Pettigrew repeated his Otago winning margin of over 3 minutes, but this time in less than half the distance and less than half the total elapsed time he beat Deane Buist by at Otago. Ben Harding completed the podium, just ahead of Tim Mackersy and Dave Strong.

The Rally Challenge result at Canterbury made the trip south very worthwhile for Hawkes Bay’s Grant Blackberry, who also finished an excellent 6th overall. Young Thomas Paul continues to revel in his debut season in 4WD with 7th overall and 2nd in the Challenge after a day-long battle with Josh Keighley. Defending champion Caleb Macdonald did very well to bring his wounded Evo 8 home within 7 seconds of Josh and keep himself right in the title chase – now second to Grant. With Grant not at Southland and only 11 points separating these 4, we can expect a new leader by the end of the South Island section of this year’s NZRC.

The new Classic Rally Championship (Cat 6C) saw Deane Buist triumphant again at Canterbury with Ben Harding taking second and Roger McKay completing the podium. Deane now leads Ben by 19 points. Southland has one less entry than Canterbury but, unfortunately, it’s not due to the Drop a Round choice being taken, as poor Derek Ayson, after showing Buist-like pace at Canterbury – like winning the power stage – suffered an engine failure that is likely to see him sidelined for the rest of the series. And it’s welcome back to Paul Cross & Janey Blair for their home rally after their late withdrawal on the eve of Canterbury.

We assume the much warmer winter climate in Vanuatu means Pierre-Henri Brunet and Nelson Law have decided to give the Deep South of NZ a miss this year, however Cat 1 still has 6 starters as it did at Canterbury, as a pair of the new Toyota GR Yaris Rally Cup cars will start.

As mentioned above, Chassis #1 will be in the hands of Ben Hunt while Southlander Carter Strang will debut Chassis #2, in preparation for a full-scale assault on the new Rally Cup competition launching next year.

Once again there are no Cat 2 entries at this round.

Cat 3 will see the Porsche count increase by 100%, as Andy Martin at last gets an opportunity to run his 991 GT3 version that originally started its life rallying in Belgium. Ari Pettigrew will still be expected to dominate this class, but no doubt Tim Mackersy (hopefully recovered from the hand injury he sustained at Canterbury) and the ever-present Dave Strong will continue to chase the now Porsche(s) as hard as ever.

With Categories 2, 3, 4 and 6 competitors able to drop their worst points scoring round from any one of the first five rounds, a few appear be taking this option at Southland. North Islanders Phil Macquarie and Mike Cameron have chosen to sit this one out, so Cat 4 has just one entry, with Pat Norris travelling the length of the South Island from his base in Nelson. Finishing would see him turn a 15-point deficit into a 15-point lead over Phil.

Cat 5A will definitely be a category to focus in this weekend as Thomas Paul leads out the Magnum of H6s that comprise Josh Keighley, the returning James McIver and another local in Kevin Laird. Terri Taylor is also back in her WRX. The Mitsubishi contingent was Queenstown’s Caleb Macdonald (Evo 8) with Harri Silcock bringing his Evo 6 down from Rangiora, but Caleb has just had to withdraw due to ongoing transmission issues from Canterbury. Willy Hawes is also sitting this one out.

Similarly, it’s not just a South Island exclusive in Cat 5B, it’s a Christchurch exclusive field with Rory Lawn (Toyota Starlet) and Josh Silcock (Ford Fiesta R2) set to go at it again, just like they did at Canterbury, when it all came down to the final stage and Josh spun at Ruapuna which saw Rory leapfrog into first to win by 3.3 seconds.

As mentioned, Cat 5C will have James McIver back, and the other 4 Rally Canterbury runners are all there with Kevin Laird and Terri Taylor all chasing current leader, and winner of both rounds so far, Thomas Paul and defending champ Josh Keighley.

Once again five Juniors scored at Canterbury, with an exact repeat of the Otago result. Jack Stokes earned another maximum 25 from Thomas Paul, Josh Keighley, with the Silcock brothers in 4th (Harri) and 5th (Josh).

The Rookie Field for Southland has five contenders back plus James McIver. Harri Silcock has the maximum 50 points, with Rory Lawn now 2nd, 9 points behind. Ben Harding and Josh Silcock are both on 36 with Roger McKay just 4 points further back. Harri beat Rory by just 9 seconds at Canterbury with Josh those precious 3.3 seconds adrift.

Dave Strong repeated his Gold Card round win at Canterbury from Pat Norris and Mike Cameron. Dave now enjoys an 11-point lead. So, with Mike sitting out his first NZRC round for quite some time, Southland is a two-horse race between Dave and Pat.

The International Driver battle is a Vanuatu Only contest this year, but as mentioned in Cat 1 above, Pierre-Henri Brunet and fellow countryman Nelson Law have stayed in warmer climes this weekend.

Jack Hawkeswood did the job for Toyota at Canterbury – just – giving them their third ever round win – following his first success at Otago in 2024 and Paul Adams/Jim Scott’s 1984 Tokoroa win in a Corolla. So, the Stokes brothers’ Skodas were unable to extend – just – the Czech Manufacturer’s run of seven consecutive round wins. With a round win each, it’s now a tie at the top between Skoda and Toyota, but a certain Porsche driver has put his manufacturer as close behind as possible – by just one point.

The Teams Cup for Categories 1 – 4 and 6 saw the Real Fords of NZ (Tim Mackersy & Deane Buist) win their second round, so they have extended their lead by one point over Jack Hawkeswood/Dave Strong’s Team South Auckland Car Club, to 15 points. The North Island Cat 6s of Ben Harding and Roger McKay are up into third, 23 points behind and, again showing the importance of both cars finishing, Stokes Motorsport is on 76 – now 58 down on the Real Fords.

The Cat 5 Teams Cup is much closer – now 6 points separate the leaders, Team H6 (Josh Keighley & Thomas Paul) from Silcock Motorsport with defending champions Big Belly Rally (Caleb Macdonald & Kevin Laird) now 20 points behind the Silcocks.

A COUPLE OF NON-CHAMPIONSHIP STATS

Hayden Paddon’s PRG are doing their best M-Sport WRC Entry impression this weekend, as they will be servicing 8% of the Field, with 28 staff on duty looking after #20 HP/Jared Hudson in the Hyundai i20 Rally2, #7 James Worker/Mags Marshall (Evo 6), #14 Stew Reid/Dave Neill (Mitsubishi Mirage AP4), #29 Andy Martin/Matt Hayward (Porsche 991 GT3) and #52 Chris and Eve Paddon in their Toyota Levin AE111.

For once the Hudsons haven’t got the most family members competing, as Car 52 is Hayden’s Dad Chris and HP’s sister Eve – surprisingly only now making her rally debut – coming out for some welcome skids. Therefore, the score is 3-2 to the Paddons, as it’s only Jared (with HP) and sister Amy – who will arguably be in one of the ‘best seats in the house’ as she calls the notes for Andrew Graves in the all-conquering Evo 3.

Andrew is the King of the Deep South and has the track record to support that. Between 2012 and 2023 he drove in 19 rallies, winning 15 of them, was 2nd on 3 and DNF’d just once. And after virtually 2 years out of the driver’s seat, apart from a very brief appearance at Wyndham last year, he was striaght back on it last weekend when he finished just half a second behind Emma Gilmour’s Citroen at the Circle Hill Rallysprint.

'AND FINALLY, A BIT OF NZ RALLY HISTORY

Right now is the 47th anniversary of the 1979 Motogard Rally New Zealand and this Facebook Post by Chris Porter, who co-drove Blair Robson to 2nd caught my eye:

1979 Motogard Rally of New Zealand July 14th to July 18th - 1979 Only 47 years ago!!

Starting and finishing in Auckland this was the sixth round of the 1979 World Rally Championship.

The Masport Escort/Ford Team entered four cars, with the following results:

Hannu Mikkola and Arne Hertz in JB780 1st Overall (winning 22 stages)

Blair Robson and Chris Porter in IF780 2nd Overall (1st New Zealanders)

Ari Vatanen and David Richards in the Rothmans Escort IZ8320 3rd Overall

Jim Donald and Kevin Lancaster in JD780 DNF (engine failure)

“3 out of 4 ain’t bad”

Having four cars to service, Ford Boreham, UK. sent two mechanics, Mick Jones and Bob Marris along with British Competitions Manager Peter Ashcroft.

After Jim’s retirement, both he and Kevin joined the service crew of 10 people to help out.

This rally sure was a huge team effort with about 28 people in 3 service vans, 2 Utes, a tyre truck (approx. 480 tyres), luggage van, team management cars and a motorhome.

The service crews were definitely kept very busy needing to replace the head gaskets in both Hannu’s and Ari’s cars at New Plymouth. No mean feat in 60 minutes!!

Posted on Facebook in NZ Rallying History by Chris Porter where there is a great group of photos.

This was my second Rally New Zealand and I gathered up a group of fellow MG Car Club (Auckland) members to form the Parc Ferme crew that leapfrogged the event as it travelled from Auckland (Sunday 2pm) to Thames, up Coromandel before stopping in Tauranga (Monday 6am).

Leg 2 restarted at 4pm Monday then ran through the night, Taupo, Taumarunui before another stop in New Plymouth at Noon the next day.

The Final Leg began at 830pm Tuesday and travelled north via Otorohanga, Hamilton and Pukekohe before finishing in Downtown Auckland by the Tepid Baths at 430pm on the Wednesday.

A total of 658 kms in 40 Special Stages (Tarmac, Mixed & Gravel) in a total route of 1,993kms.

Hannu Mikkola’s winning time was 5 minutes over 8 hours and his initial winning margin was 15 minutes, until the works Datsuns were excluded when they refused to allow the scrutineers to inspect their engines.

Greenie finished 7th in a Ford Escort RS and the driver in Car 31 this weekend, one Ray Wilson, finished 13th and won the 0-1300cc class in his Leyland Mini GT..

Blair and Chris's car was IF 780 which was the plate number on Ari Vatanen's Works Escort in 1977 when he (and Jim Scott) took on the 3 x Works Fiat Abarth 131s in our first WRC Round- the Radio New Zealand Rally of the South Pacific - that ran for a full week from Wellington to Auckland. Inky Tulloch used 'this car' to win Southland in 1984 and now Deane Buist will have it's latest 'Grandad's Axe' iteration back on these roads this weekend.

Now THAT’S what we knew as Rallying….

Apart from that, a couple of my other lasting memories are of Pentti Airikkala in the works Vauxhall Chevette 2300HS, co-driven by our own Dr Rodger Freeth, going up the (then) Banking at Western Springs, in the rain, and going round the outside of Hannu Mikkola to win the stage and take the rally lead.

Had the crowd on their feet.

And the other one is for BB.

We had just set up the first Parc Ferme area in the centre of Thames and were awaiting the arrival of the cars.

Well before we could see any of them, we were treated to the sound of BDA Escorts almost at competition volume, blasting through the town streets.

It was BB Heaven !! Just a shame you were still years away from being able to take it all in BB.

Next thing we knew the stunning (and now legendary) livery of the first Masport Escort powered into view and we booked them in.

Not much was initially said, but once the locals started arriving, we found out that the traffic lights on the one lane Kopu Bridge were not working properly and cars were being held up there, hence the somewhat elevated touring speeds (and glorious increased engine revs) they were deeming necessary to clock in on time.

Just another example of why this awesome sport becomes so addictive…Enjoy your weekend..

The fierce battle in the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship resumes this weekend when the nation’s leading drivers tackle the Barry Robinson Memorial Rally Southland.

Based out of Invercargill but featuring roads used in the non-championship Wyndham Rally, the national championship returns to the Deep South for the first time since 2024.

Jack Stokes (Stokes Motorsport Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) and Jack Hawkeswood (Ventia Equipment Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) will resume their head-to-head battle at the top of the standings.

The pair have traded wins through the opening two rounds of the championship and are separated by just two points heading into the weekend.

Robbie Stokes (Stokes Motorsport Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) will have the bit between the teeth after a couple of disappointing results to start with and should be as favoured as any to get the rally win.

Four-time national champion Ben Hunt makes a return to the championship in the Toyota GR Yaris Rally Cup car. His talents should give a good account of what these cars – set to run as a class of the championship next season – are capable of.

Quentin Palmer (Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) has scored back-to-back podiums and will look to stay in the title frame while Southland local Carter Strang will also enter a Toyota GR Yaris Rally Cup car and could be worth keeping an eye on in familiar territory.

Ari Pettigrew will start as the overwhelming favourite in the Open 2WD class in his Porsche 911 and will have some company with Andy Martin’s 991 GT3 car set to make its debut. Martin’s battle with Dave Strong (Honda Jazz RS) and Tim Mackersy (Ford Fiesta Rally4) will be intriguing.

Pat Norris (Toyota Corolla AE86) will need to be disciplined as he is the only starter in the Historic class, and he has a great opportunity to take the lead in the category with his rivals missing this event.

As usual Deane Buist (Ford Escort RS1800) will start as favourite in the Classics field but will be kept honest by Ben Harding (Mazda RX7 Group B), Paul Cross (Toyota Corolla AE86) and Roger McKay (Ford Escort RS1800).

The Rally Challenge 4WD class is set to be an epic showdown with the Subaru Impreza H6 brigade (Thomas Paul, Josh Keighley, James McIver, and Kevin Laird) and Terri Taylor (WRX) doubling as the contenders in the Group A Challenge.

Those competitors will battle impressive youngster Harri Silcock (Mitsubishi Evo 6) in class 5A as defending champion Caleb Macdonald (Mitsubishi Evo 8) is a late withdrawal due to ongoing transmission problems.

Rory Lawn (Toyota Starlet) and Josh Silcock (Ford Fiesta R2) go head-to-head in their epic Rally Challenge 2WD battle.

The rally begins with a ceremonial opening on Friday afternoon on Esk Street in downtown Invercargill before a full day of rallying on Saturday.

MRF Tyres is pleased to confirm the expansion of its agreement with the New Zealand Rally Championship, which will see the Indian tyre manufacturer not only continue as the control tyre supplier for the series through to the end of the 2027 season but extend to also include the Rally Challenge classes.

The renewed agreement underlines the strength of the relationship between MRF Tyres and the NZRC, a partnership that has continued to grow since the introduction of the control tyre for the 2024 season.

Over the past two and a half seasons, the championship has enjoyed extremely competitive rallying, strong depth across the field and a high level of performance from the MRF product across New Zealand’s demanding gravel stages.

Since becoming the control tyre supplier, MRF Tyres has played a key role in supporting a stable and competitive technical platform for teams and crews.

The control tyre period has also coincided with stage records continuing to fall across the championship, highlighting both the performance and consistency of the tyres in some of the most challenging rally conditions in the region.

“This extension through to the end of 2027 underlines the commitment of both the New Zealand Rally Championship and MRF Tyres,” said Vivek Ponnusamy, on behalf of MRF Tyres. “Our relationship has grown stronger season after season and is delivering real benefits for everyone involved. New Zealand is an important rally market, with extremely demanding stages, and we are proud that MRF Tyres continues to provide a competitive, reliable and proven product for the championship. We would also like to thank Palmside NZ for the excellent work they are doing in the NZRC, supporting customers with outstanding service and technical assistance throughout the championship”.

“Since the introduction of a control tyre for the 2024 season, the NZRC has gone from strength to strength and in 2026 we’re looking at a third straight championship that will go right down to the final stage. MRF have been a massive part of that success, not only as a loyal partner of the championship through a lot of global uncertainty, but also by providing a solid product that continues to see stage records tumble. More importantly, the reliability record has been extremely strong compared with what we saw during the open tyre era,”

Blair Bartels, Championship Coordinator of the New Zealand Rally Championship, said. “Given the success of the introduction over the last two and a half seasons, making the decision to expand to the Rally Challenge categories as well was an absolute no-brainer,” added Bartels. “It is a move we believe will only continue to strengthen the championship and support competitors across different levels of the sport.”

The third round of the 20026 Hawkeswood Mining North Island Rally Series (NIRS) has seen a shake up within the top ten overall competitors and Class results after the SBT Group Taranaki Tarmac Rally was held on Saturday.  The one-day event saw Mitch Pilcher and co-driver Darryn Todd (Subaru Impreza) first NIRS competitor home ahead of Phillip Broadbent/Sam Broadbent (Toyota Starlet) and Tony Differ/Jayson Stringer (Mitsubishi Lancer EX Turbo) after nine Special Stages.  

“I wasn’t expecting that,” commented Pilcher competing in only his second rally.  

“I wanted to finish and did so with a good result.”  

Pilcher benefitted from the early retirements of both Carlin Leong/Nathan Roa (Subaru Impreza) and Charlie Evans/Tania Cresswell (Mazda RX7) in just the second Special Stage.  

Leong, who had a chance to take over the overall lead in the NIRS, suffered clutch problems while Evans, who missed the opening round, went off the road and became stuck in a ditch.  

“It went really well,” said 20-year-old Pilcher.  “We took the first stage quite easy and then on the fourth we spun twice with a slippery road.  Otherwise very pleased with the day.”  

The win has moved Pilcher up to sixth while Differ jumps from seventh to second overall.  

Gavin Feast (Subaru Impreza) finished sixth and moves from ninth to fourth while Shaun Wade (Mitsubishi Mirage 4WD) sits one-point behind Pilcher in seventh.  

Pilcher, a potential future champion, also won the Drive of the Day plus the Winmax Brake Pad voucher.  

With a number of NIRS competitors electing not to enter this round, a number of Classes saw changes in their title chase.  

Darryl McManus/Maddy Buhr (Toyota Vitz) continue to lead Class A (2WD:0-1300cc) while Andrew Lowe/Ian Barr (Toyota AE101) takes over the lead in Class B (2WD 1301-1600cc).  

Khalid Mason/Sara Mason (Ford Fiesta ST150) were set to not only extend their lead in Class C (1601-2000cc 2WD) but also a chance to finish on the overall NIRS podium before retiring out of the last stage of the day.    

"The final stage with the Jumps was the one I was looking forward to the most," said Khalid.  

"After leaving the (start) line there was no drive and there was nothing we could do but coast to a safe spot and sit and think about how close we were to our best ever rally finish, but it wasn't our day and it wasn't to be." The issue being two broken axles.  

Tony Differ/Jayson Stringer have taken over the lead in Class D (2WD 2000cc and over) with Phillip Broadbent/Sam Broadbent moving into second.  

Chris Alexander/Jackson Foster (Ford Cortina and Escort Van) made the most of the opportunity to take over the lead in Class E (Classic 2WD) and now have a 15-point advantage over Andrew Keighley.    

Despite missing the rally to pursue their NZ Rally Championship ambitions, Quentin Palmer and Noel Moloney (Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) still retain the lead in both the overall and Class F (4WD: 1601-1999cc) standings.  

The father and son combination of Gavin & Hamish Feast (Subaru Impreza) not only made their debut on tarmac but now lead Class G (4WD 2001 and over) by three-points back to Carlin Leong/Nathan Roa.  

Despite finishing behind Shaun Wade/Haylee Wade (Mitsubishi Mirage 4WD), Chris Burke/Stephen Taylor (Toyota Celica GT) hold onto their lead in Class I (4WD: Pre 1996).  

Overall honours for the Taranaki Tarmac Rally went to Robert Darrington/David Abetz (Toyota Yaris) ahead of David Rogers/Noel Moloney (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10) with Jason Gill/Katrina Renshaw (VW Polo) in third, all running in the unrestricted 4WD class.  

The next 2026 Hawkeswood Mining North Island Rally Series round, the BP Rally Taumarunui will take place Saturday August 8th.  

The 2026 North Island Rally Series acknowledges and thanks these partners for their support: Hawkeswood Mining, Semog, Pure Quality Construction, Paddon Racing Group, iSignit, Ngatea Panelbeaters and Online Contractors.

While this Saturday’s SBT Group Taranaki Tarmac Rally will see the Hawkeswood Mining North Island Rally Series (NIRS) competitors shift from gravel to the sealed roads around New Plymouth, it will also be likely to see a number of changes in the eight separate Classes competing for both line and overall titles.  

Six of the current Class leaders have elected not to enter this round, including overall leaders Quentin Palmer and Noel Moloney (Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) who has elected to pursue his NZ Rally Championship ambitions in Southland in July. Palmer has a healthy 26-point lead back to Carlin Leong/Nathan Roa (Subaru Impreza) but this won’t be enough margin with 40-points on the line for the first NIRS car home.  

His co-driver, Noel Moloney, will be at the Taranaki Tarmac Rally alongside the number one seed Dave Rogers (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10) who will lead away the 33-car field.  

Blair Richardson/Nikki Sim (Ford Escort Mk1) beat home Class A (2WD 0-1300cc) leader Darryl McManus/Maddy Buhr (Toyota Vitz) at the last round, the Newstead Lodge Rally of Waitomo, and with neither entered the order will remain.  

Without class leader and defending class champions Sam and Mathew Broadbent entering, Class B (2WD 1301-1600cc) will be represented by Andrew Lowe/Ian Barr (Toyota Corolla AE101). Sam will be codriving with his dad, Phil Broadbent, in the mighty 2.5l Millington powered Toyota Starlet.  

Khalid Mason/Sara Mason (Ford Fiesta ST150) could extend their lead in Class C (1601-2000cc 2WD) while Charlie Evans/Tania Cresswell (Mazda RX7) and Tony Differ/Jayson Stringer (Mitsubishi EX Lancer Turbo) will be fighting for the lead in Class D (2WD 2000cc and over) alongside Broadbent.  

Chris Alexander/Jackson Foster (Ford Cortina) have the opportunity to take over the lead in Class E (Classic 2WD) with Andrew Keighley electing not to run at this round.  

Although not entered, Palmer should retain his lead in Class F (4WD  1601-1999cc).  

Carlin Leong/Nathan Roa (Subaru Impreza) are set to extend their 12-point lead in Class G (4WD 2001 and over) over Ben Huband who will not be at the event due to business commitments. However, watch out for father and son Gavin & Hamish Feast (Subaru Impreza) making their debut on tarmac.  

Chris Burke/Stephen Taylor (Toyota Celica GT) currently lead Class I (4WD Pre 1996) and will be up against second placed Shaun Wade/Haylee Wade (Mitsubishi Mirage 4WD) as well as young gun Mitch Pilcher/Darryn Todd (Subaru Impreza) who impressed with a top ten result at his first rally last month at the Rally of Waitomo.  

The one-day event based out of New Plymouth is run by the South Taranaki & Taranaki Car Clubs and comprises nine Special Stages totalling 152km with another 204km of Touring Stages.  

Overall honours are likely to be fought out between Rogers, Jason Gill/Katrina Renshaw (VW Polo) and Evan OLeary/Bevan Parker (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10) all running in the unrestricted 4WD class.  

The first car is away from the SBT Group offices, New Plymouth at 07:45hrs with Stage 1 starting at 0802 hrs.  

The Finish is at the New Plymouth Sportfishing and Underwater Club, 45 Ocean View Parade, Moturoa with the first car returning at approximately 16.04.

Late entries will still be accepted up until the close of documentation in New Plymouth on Friday evening 26 June 2026.  

The 2026 North Island Rally Series acknowledges and thanks these partners for their support: Hawkeswood Mining, Semog, Pure Quality Construction, Paddon Racing Group, iSignit, Ngatea Panelbeaters and Online Contractors.

Kiwi rally stars Hayden Paddon and John Kennard wrapped up WRC Rally Japan with a clean seventh place finish.  

It’s been a rally of two halves, says Paddon of the seventh round of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship which took place 28 to 31 May in and around Toyota City, to the west of Tokyo.  

While judging tyre choice for Friday’s six stages proved trickier than expected, the Kiwis were determined to keep learning and improving on their third event with Hyundai Motorsport in the Hyundai i20 Rally1 car.  

“It didn’t start too well on Friday, but we were able to make some setup changes overnight and get some good improvements for Saturday and Sunday,” says Paddon, who like all competitors spent Saturday trying to manage tyre wear in hot temperatures.  

“This meant we were a lot closer to our teammates in terms of stage times and overall results.  

“In the end, to finish seventh is still a good job done. I’m not sure the rally would have ended any differently even if it had started more positively. At the end of the day, we got the car to the finish on another rally we hadn’t done before when we’re still learning more about the car all the time. No scratches, no damage, a clean finish. We can tick a lot of boxes in competing here, where we enjoyed running a Rally1 car on tarmac for the last time.”  

With Hyundai Motorsport still to announce which of their third car drivers will compete in the remaining 2026 WRC events, Paddon acknowledges that the events that he and Kennard contested have been probably three of the most challenging tarmac rallies for them.  

“There’s no secret in that, but with each rally – Monte Carlo, Croatia and here in Japan – we’ve been trying to take the challenges in our stride and do the best we can. We’ve kept improving, our speed’s improved with each rally and we’ve secured a couple of good results. I think we’ve done everything that’s been asked of us. So now we look forward to the next steps.”  

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Jack Hawkeswood has stormed home to win Lone Star Rally Canterbury by just 0.2 of a second from Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship points leader Jack Stokes in the equal closest finish in history.

The 0.2 of a second margin is the same as when Chris West beat Richard Mason at Otago in 2005 and came after Hawkeswood got in front for the first time on the penultimate stage of the day.

The Vertu Equipment Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 driver held his nerve in the final blast around Ruapuna Raceway to earn his second career victory and move to within two points of the championship lead.

Stokes (Stokes Motorsport Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) maintains his title advantage but will be gutted to have missed winning his home event by such a narrow margin, especially when he led for the majority of the day.

Quentin Palmer celebrated his birthday in style, scooping a second successive podium finish in his Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo to remain well in the championship fight.

Earlier, defending Canterbury champion Robbie Stokes got stuck off the road on the second stage of the day after winning the opening stage in his Stokes Motorsport Fabia Rally2 evo.

For the second straight event Ari Pettigrew barely put a foot wrong in winning the Open 2WD and overall 2WD classes in his Porsche 911 WRC. He secured a brilliant fourth overall and mixed it with the leading contenders all day.

Grant Blackberry (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10) took the Rally Challenge 4WD class lead after a brilliant performance to earn the class win. He held off Thomas Paul (Subaru Impreza H6) by just over 40 seconds.

Paul was the MRF Drive of the Rally winner for his win in the Group A Challenge class as well as second overall Rally Challenge 4WD.

Josh Keighley (Subaru Impreza H6) finished second to Paul in the Group A Challenge and pipped Caleb Macdonald for the Rally Challenge 4WD’s final podium spot. Terri Taylor (Subaru Impreza WRX) finished third in the Group A Challenge.

Deane Buist took out the Classic class in his Ford Escort, to build on his championship lead. Ben Harding (Mazda RX7) and Roger McKay (Ford Escort Mk2 BDA) completed the podium.

Rory Lawn (Toyota Starlet) backed up his Rally Challenge 2WD win at Otago by edging the impressive Josh Silcock (Ford Fiesta R2) for the class win on Sunday. Just 3.3 seconds separated the pair at the end. Ian Warren (Suzuki Swift Cup Car) completed the podium.

Tim Mackersy (Ford Fiesta Rally4) held off Dave Strong (Honda Jazz RS) in the battle for the minor spots in the Open 2WD podium after Pettigrew took a commanding win.

Phil Macquarie (Ford Escort RS1800) made it two wins from two in the Historic 2WD class as he held off Pat Norris (Toyota Corolla AE86) and Mike Cameron (Mitsubishi Lancer).

Stokes now leads Hawkeswood by two points heading to round three – the Barry Robinson Memorial Rally Southland on Saturday July 18th.

As speculated in my last post, the competition at Otago was intense and incredibly close as the three NZRC front runners fought for every Second – and Split Second for that matter - throughout the 16 rollercoaster stages.  

Apart from the central city tarmac test (at 86kph), only one other stage – the as expected Waipori Gorge – had a winning average speed of under 105kph; and even that was 97.42kph. Most of the other 14 were in the 120’s as Robbie Stokes, Jack Stokes and Jack Hawkeswood put on an amazing show.  

Up until Robbie’s unfortunate retirement when touring to Stage 11 on the Sunday, the trio were never separated in stage times by more than 10 seconds on all but two stages, and on those the two Jacks virtually cancelled each other out as Jack S beat Jack H by 17.1 seconds on the 46k Tuapeka stage and Jack H took almost all of that back on the very next one – 13.4 on the 32k Mitchells Flat test.  

Despite this fast and furious fight over almost 285 kilometres, Otago was the second NZRC round in the last three where a Penalty decided the winner. Jack H and Jason Farmer had a communication misunderstanding when leaving the second Service on the Saturday and thereby incurred a very costly 2 Minute Early Penalty. So from then on, despite their best, spirited attempts in the stages to make up the time given away, they were really depending on Jack Stokes suffering a delay of some sort if they wanted to take their second Otago win.  

They netted 9 stage wins along the way, with the Stokes brothers taking 3 each – Aussie Alex Rullo put his Supercars experience to great use by winning the tarmac test. So Jack H actually had the lowest total stage time – by 26 seconds, which equates to just 0.09 of a second per kilometre – but the Penalty turned that into a 1minute 34 second victory to Jack S.  

However, this in no way should take anything away from Jack Stokes’ performance, as from stage 6 on, he knew exactly what the significance of the Hawkeswood/Farmer slip up meant, and with Robbie incurring a 1 minute 30 second Lateness Penalty out of the first Service, the whole scenario changed into managing the advantage he had been presented with, and what followed was an incredibly mature, heady drive to control the rally from the front.  

The pace that he continued to drive at to maintain his lead and his overall performance was even more meritorious when you consider Jack had never won a rally before – let alone an FIA sanctioned event - which could well mean he and Hayden Graves are the first ever crew to win a round of an FIA Championship on debut.  

Otago was the first time they had driven their new Skoda in a rally, and such was their minimal amount of seat time in it, when it began to rain on Sunday, it was the first time they had driven it in the wet. It was also Jack’s first time driving Left Hand Drive in a top flight car – let alone a state-of-the-art Rally2 version.  

And it was just as well Jack is an accomplished rugby flanker, as not many others could have stood their ground the way he did when his (still helmet wearing) brother charged into him with a victory hug at the Kuri Bush Stop Control.  

Apart from a small incident during testing, Jack’s build-up to his home rally was capped off very nicely last weekend at the MotorsportNZ Annual Awards evening in Wellington when, not only did he receive his 2025 NZRC Junior Rally Champion Trophy, but he was announced as the overall winner of the 2025 Elite Motorsport Academy and now adds the Ian Snellgrove Trophy to the Bruce McLaren one he was awarded as the top athlete at the week-long Dunedin Training Camp.  

It’s my understanding this makes Jack the first-ever Rally Competitor to win the Overall Award, as Zeal Jones did win the Bruce Mclaren as the top participant, but was pipped by circuit racer Ayrton Hodson for the Overall in 2023.  

Robbie managed to make the most of the ability to re-join for the Power Stage and claimed the maximum 5 NZRC points, to salvage as much as he could, but 15th on the Championship Table and 33 points behind his brother (and 29 down on Jack H), means he is already depending on them coming unstuck on at least one of the remaining five rounds to have any realistic chance of getting back into the title fight.  

Taumarunui’s Quentin Palmer made the trip south very worthwhile by completing the NZRC podium, although with the white-hot pace upfront he found himself in a bit of No Mans Land behind Jack H and similarly well clear of fourth placed Ari Pettigrew.  

Ari was another to shine as he debuted his new Porsche and had everyone in awe of how well he and Jack Norris went first time out. The speeds they hit were astonishing – at one point reaching 223kph – and Ari’s skills in harnessing a car more commonly seen on tarmac and in marathon rallies around the world was a sight to behold.  

As always Otago provides superb Highs for some, but equally the lowest of Lows for others, so we need to spare a thought for Cantabrians Dylan Thomson, Tim and James McIver, who all had significant off-road excursions that mean their seasons were literally turned upside down in an instant, and we hope to see them back sooner rather than later.  

Dylan’s incident could also mean it’s the end of the road for the ex-Ben Hunt double championship winning Skoda, which has been such a dominant presence on our stages since its first appearance at Otago in 2022. In its four previous visits to Otago the car was never off the podium – with 2 x 3rds, a 2nd and finally a 1st last year – and across its four NZRC seasons and 23 rounds, Ben and Tony had just 2 x DNFs – and they were both Off Roads – on Day One of WRC Rally NZ in 2022 and the 2023 Rally South Canterbury. So you could say the car has a 100% Mechanical Finishing Record.     

OTHER NZRC CATEGORIES  

While the Overall Championship fight inevitably grabbed much of the attention at Otago, several of the other categories also provided great competition.  

As mentioned, Ari Pettigrew was the star of the 2WD Championship, powering his Porsche to a 3-minute advantage over Deane Buist who, it should be acknowledged, did a fantastic job hanging on to Kris Meeke’s coat tails in the Classic 2WD Division. Tim Mackersy showed excellent form to finish 3rd with Derek Ayson, Dave Strong and Ben Harding within 40 seconds of each other after an event long battle. All of them will be back in action at Canterbury, so we are sure to be in for more of the same.  

The Rally Challenge at Otago went the way of defending champ Caleb Macdonald, who will have regular Co-driver Larisa Biggar back alongside, over Hawkes Bay’s Grant Blackberry, just under a minute behind over the Day One stages. Young Thomas Paul was very impressive in third, a similar margin down on Grant, so much so that he and Bridget Airey won the Classic 4WD Division. All three will be at Canterbury, along with locals Harri Silcock and Josh Keighley, who will both be very keen to take out podium positions and make up as much ground as possible on home roads.  

The new Classic Rally Championship has Deane Buist, Derek Ayson and Ben Harding currently in the podium positions, but another to turn heads against much more powerful competition at Otago was Paul Cross who sits fourth, just 5 points behind Ben. Unfortunately, Paul is a late withdrawal from this round, as his good friend Jared Leabody passed away unexpectedly earlier this week. Our sincere condolences to family and friends and all in the rally community who knew Jared. As usual, Deane will be expected to dominate, particularly with so much experience on these North Canterbury roads but, if Otago is anything to go by, Derek and Ben are set for another Battle Royale.  

For the first time I can remember an NZRC round will run with no entries in a category, as Cat 2 will not feature this time around.  

Cat 3 is likely to be another Ari Pettigrew show of strength with both Tim Mackersy and Dave Strong ready to pounce should the unthinkable happen to the flying Porsche.  

In the finish Phil Macquarie was a runaway winner in Cat 4 from Mike and Helen Cameron. It will still be Team Cameron at Canterbury, but this time - hopefully with a next generation Lolly Lady - as Mike and Helen’s youngest daughter Kelly – the Sky Diving Instructor – will join Dad in LILEVO for her debut outing in the Co-driver’s seat after their first attempt together, almost 20 years ago at Otago way back in 2007 turned out to be a Did Not Start. However, Kelly has been in LILEVO before when she drove Car #90 in the 2007 Taranaki Tarmac Rally – with Helen co-driving.  

In Cat 5b the four Irish/Aussie Escorts won’t be at Canterbury, so Rory Lawn and Josh Silcock are set to go at it again. However, they won’t have it all their own way as Darren Galbraith makes a welcome return in his Fiesta and the very rapid Ian Warren will drive the Suzuki Swift Cup Car peddled so well at Otago by Mr and Mrs Lopez.  

As mentioned, Cat 5c will be without James McIver, but the other five Otago starters are all back with James Macdonald, Kevin Laird and Terri Taylor all chasing current leader Thomas Paul and defending champ Josh Keighley.   

Five Juniors scored at Otago, with Jack Stokes naturally earning the maximum 25 from Thomas Paul, Josh Keighley, with the Silcock brothers in 4th (Harri) and 5th (Josh).  

The Rookie Field for Canterbury has halved from Otago mainly as there are no Aussies this time. So Harri Silcock has a handy lead due to Sean McAloon and Toby Price finishing 2nd and 3rd. The very impressive Rory Lawn is therefore 6 points behind Harri and then comes the two Cat 6 entries of Derek Ayson and Ben Harding. Josh Silcock is next with Roger McKay the other starter.  

It’s almost the same situation in the Gold Card, as last year’s Top Three are the only runners at Canterbury after we had six at Otago. Dave Strong came out on top there with Mike Cameron 5th and Pat Norris 6th. So Dave starts this round with a 7-point lead.  

The International Driver battle is a Vanuatu Only contest this time as Pierre-Henri Brunet will be looking to extend his 6-point advantage over fellow countryman Nelson Law.  

The Stokes brothers’ Skodas will be looking to extend the Czech Manufacturer’s run of seven consecutive round wins, but undoubtedly, Jack Hawkeswood will be striving to give Toyota just their third ever – following his success at Otago in 2024 and Paul Adams/Jim Scott’s 1984 Tokoroa win in a Corolla. Interestingly, with the Cat 2 and 3 cars earning Bonus Points, Ari Pettigrew has Porsche in Second on the points table, just 2 points adrift of Skoda, and one in front of Toyota.  

The Teams Cup for Categories 1 – 4 and 6 has the Real Fords of NZ (Tim Mackersy & Deane Buist) with a handy 14-point lead over Jack Hawkeswood/Dave Strong’s Team South Auckland Car Club, with the ESCC Classics (Derek Ayson/Paul Cross) 6 points further back. Showing the importance of both cars finishing, Stokes Motorsport is on 49 – 31 down on the Real Fords. They are tied with the North Island Cat 6s of Ben Harding and Roger McKay.  

The Cat 5 Teams Cup is much closer – just 2 points separate the leaders, Team H6 (Josh Keighley & Thomas Paul) from Silcock Motorsport with Kevin Laird’s retirement limiting defending champions Big Belly Rally to just Caleb Macdonald’s 30 points for winning Cat 5.    

AND FINALLY, A LITTLE BIT OF CANTERBURY RALLY NZRC HISTORY  

Rally Canterbury returned to the championship in 2013, after a 13-year break, when Greeny and Jim Robb won in the Ford Escort WRC in 2000. It was then a fixture on the calendar until COVID scuppered the 2020 series and throughout those seven years there was only one repeat winner – and it wasn’t Hayden Paddon. In fact, Hayden has never done Canterbury as an NZRC round.  

It was Ben Hunt, who won in both his first two championship winning years (2015 and 2019) – in the same Subaru he will be driving again this year.  

The other winners were Chris West in 2013, Richard Mason (2014), Emma Gilmour (2016), Matt Summerfield (2017), Josh Marston (2018).  

And of course, Canterbury was back in as Round 3 last year when Robbie Stokes beat Benny to notch up his first NZRC round win.  

So, based on that track record, who would bet against it being one of the Jacks who maintain that run come Sunday afternoon after the blast around Ruapuna and the tour back to the Lone Star in Central Christchurch.

Kiwi rally stars Hayden Paddon and John Kennard head for this week’s FIA World Rally Championship in Japan with a different goal to their two earlier events with Hyundai Motorsport this year.  

The aim is to up the pace, says Paddon of the seventh WRC round, taking place 28-31 May in and around Toyota City, to the west of Tokyo.  

“It’s another new rally for us, but this time the approach shifts,” says Paddon. “It’s time to release the shackles and turn up the speed. There’s less pressure on us to simply finish as there was at Monte Carlo and Croatia – although this doesn’t stop that being a key goal – but John and I want to try and get closer to our teammates in terms of speed and stage times. We’re feeling much more comfortable in the car and want to use that to try and be competitive within the top five or six.”  

Earlier editions of WRC Japan have utilised flowing asphalt stages. Now, the stages are typically narrow and twisty, often lined by barriers, drop-offs or dense trees.  

Paddon acknowledges they lack personal knowledge of the stages whereas other competitors have contested many of the same stages over the two previous editions of this rally.  

“However, I’ve also benefited from another one-day test in Europe, helping me get to know the car more. Based off my feelings and the data from Croatia, we tried some new setups which took us in the right direction. However, there’s no opportunity to test in specific Japan conditions, so the Shakedown runs immediately before the rally starts will be very important for fine-tuning the car.” 

Paddon and Kennard have competed in Japan just once before, back in 2010, when Rally Japan was on gravel and a round of the FIA Production World Rally Championship. The Kiwis finished second in this category.  

“We’ve obviously been doing our homework on the stages. They look quite slow, tight and technical, so different to the European tarmac rounds. Compared to Croatia with the huge amount of dirt and stones being dragged onto the tarmac, we’re expecting the stages in Japan to stay relatively clean, allowing for the fact it’s coming into the rainy season. We can expect some wet conditions at some point during the rally, which will make roads extremely slippery.”

A little change means the Lonestar/Joes Garage Rally Canterbury will look a lot different when the second round of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship takes place later this month.

The organising committee, including promoter Jack Smith have brought about some quite significant change.

Smith has given the event a bit of a shake-up, bringing it more up to speed with the needs of modern events while honouring the past as well.

The introduction of premier spectator fan zones, complete with food trucks, big screen and commentary, is just the start.

The ceremonial start, to be held at Lonestar Manchester Street in downtown Christchurch, has undergone a revamp this year, including the use of former television personality Clint Brown, who will MC the night. Brown was a recognisable voice of rallying through the 1990s and early 2000s and will be a popular addition to this year’s event.

“There will be a lot more promotion around the event including what I grew up with as the voice of rallying, so we are looking to have a lot more public attending” Smith said.

“We have a drivers' signing session inside the Lonestar restaurant from 5pm.”

The last stage will take place at Euromarque Motorsport Park where the cars will compete on the track but with a totally different layout this year.

“We are not using the full length of the track which we know at the end of the rally day is hard on cars especially the long front straight and back straight,” Smith said.

“It is a bit more of a rally special using the inside of the track backwards, more laps in front of the spectators. A bit more technical and a bit tighter but it should be great viewing.”

Another change for this year is around dedicated Service Parks.

“We have dedicated Services in Amberley, Cheviot and Waikari so the perfect locations for servicing where you are not worried about traffic coming past,” Smith explained.

“You can set up early, leave when you like and no rush to get your space.”

The event’s motto is simply, “why?”

“I’m fortunate to work alongside and bounce ideas off some of the best rally organisers in the country. Bouncing ideas, meeting bi-weekly to discuss where the radio tower will be or which marshals go where.

“When you sit on an organising committee like this, you start to understand how much effort it takes to build the events. I just do the pretty bit and hopefully we can help bring a crowd to national rallying.”

Lonestar Rally Canterbury starts with the ceremonial opening on Saturday May 30 before a day of action north of the city on the Sunday.