The 2026 Central Machine Hire Otago Rally has had a date change to avoid a clash with the round of the Supercars Championship also scheduled for Christchurch on April 18-19.

Both events were initially calendared for the same weekend, but Otago Rally officials were keen to avoid a clash with the South Island’s first ever Supercars race in order to give fans, mechanics, officials, competitors and the media the chance to attend both events.

The Central Machine Hire Otago Rally will now be held from April 10 to 12, a week earlier than originally announced.

Although this is the same weekend as the Supercars race in Taupo, Otago Rally organisers believe this is a more manageable clash.

“We appreciate Supercars reaching out to us once they were aware of a potential clash,” event spokesman, Roger Oakley, said.

“Next year is the 50th anniversary of the Central Machine Hire Otago Rally, and with plenty of pre-planning for the milestone event already underway, we were keen to get the date sorted and move ahead.”

The Central Machine Hire Otago Rally will now be a week after Easter, providing a bumper two weeks of motorsport for those in the lower South Island.

It gives both Dunedin and Christchurch the opportunity to co-promote their destinations.

“Kiwi motorsport fans have long asked for there to be two Supercars rounds in New Zealand, so while it is unfortunate we need to change our date, we are excited about Supercars coming to the South Island for the first time,” Oakley added.

“We appreciate the understanding of all those involved in the rally, and other adjacent events to allow the change of date.”

CEO of Supercars, Shane Howard, added: “We are well aware of the iconic status that the Otago Rally holds, and appreciate the organiser’s attitude to resolving a date conflict for 2026.”

A number of special features are already being planned for the 50th anniversary Otago Rally that will run on April 10 to 12. 

The Central Machine Hire Otago Rally is grateful for the support of Premier Event funding from the Dunedin City Council.

Life is busy for Kiwi rally star Hayden Paddon who is about to contest three very different rallies over three consecutive weekends in three countries with three different co-drivers!  

Rally Queensland, running 4 to 6 July near Gympie, north of Brisbane, has been booked in all year. Paddon is all set to continue his bid to win his first Australian Rally Championship (ARC) title with longtime co-driver John Kennard alongside in the PRG-run Hyundai i20N Rally2 car.  

Paddon and Kennard took the lead of their respective drivers’ and codrivers’ championships at the previous ARC round in Western Australia and know they face a challenge in Queensland as most of the ARC frontrunners have considerable experience on the rally’s gravel, forestry plantation roads.  

Then Paddon received an invitation to compete in the Ypres Rally in Belgium, running 28 and 29 June, an event he’s contested once before, way back in 2013 at the start of his international career.  

One of the longest-running rallies in Europe, the Ypres Rally is a hard-fought, high-speed, all-tarmac rally which regularly attracts top international drivers. Paddon will be joined by New Zealand co-driver Jared Hudson to contest a Hyundai i20N Rally2 car prepared by last year’s Belgian Champions, BMA.  

And this week, a late change in the entry list for Ireland’s most competitive motorsport rally, the Donegal Rally, provides Paddon with the opportunity to drive another Hyundai i20N Rally2 car with co-driver Dave Moynihan. The car will be run by C&M Motorsport and the event takes place 20-22 June.  

Described as the ultimate three-day, tarmac rally, the Donegal Rally attracts huge crowds of over 70,000 spectators and close to 400,000 viewers on television and online. Being the only three-day tarmac rally in Ireland and the UK, the Donegal International Rally sees the best Irish, British and international drivers competing every year.  

Paddon is understandably excited. “It’s fantastic to be heading back to Europe for some rally action again during what will be one of the busiest three week windows of my life. There’s certainly a challenge ahead, with three different cars, three different co-drivers and teams across the three events that span halfway round the globe.  

“Donegal and Ypres are very famous events where the locals are extremely fast on demanding stages. Then, on our return to Australia, we are going into a rally where most of the ARC competitors are familiar with the stages from last year. So we are going to have to prepare and push hard at all three events. It’s a challenge I’m definitely up for.”  

Paddon has heard a lot about rallying in Ireland. “To compete on their most famous rally will be an awesome experience, so a massive thanks to Marty and C&M Motorsport for the invitation. The rules state that with a late entry change, you can change only one aspect of the entry so, in this case, it’s me as the driver. I’m looking forward to teaming up with Dave in the co-driver’s seat who has a lot of local knowledge of the event that will be a massive help.”  

Returning to the Ypres Rally in Belgium after 12 years will be a trip down memory lane for the Kiwi star. “More thanks are needed to Alain Penase for inviting us to the event and the BMA team who will be running the Hyundai. I have great memories and it’s a tarmac rally like no other.  

“The dream is to try and challenge for victories across all three events, but to achieve that would be huge. Together with my three co-drivers and teams, I know we’ll give it everything we have and try our best to keep up with the locals. It’s a unique and exciting privilege, to get outside your comfort zone and try new challenges, and for me, that is motivation to push us to try even harder.”  

Keep up with all the action as Hayden Paddon competes in Ireland, Belgium and Australia over the next month 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, TrialLite, Hankook, Z Energy, Blaster and Signbiz.

Zeal Jones and Bayden Thomson put in another strong weekend at the fourth round of the all Japan Morizo Challenge Cup – the Montre Rally – finishing third overall and closer than ever to that first round win.

With New Zealand rally legend Hayden Paddon on hand to help and advise over the weekend, Jones and Thomson put a relatively slow start on stage one behind them to be one of the pace setters on the afternoon of the first day and throughout the second day of the eight-stage rally.

The strong result moves them to second in the championship standings at the halfway point of the season.

“We were third overall and had a great final day with two stage wins and a second place,” commented Jones.

“We just missed out on second overall by 1.8 seconds which is a little frustrating but again it was really close overall and we were only 14 seconds off winning.

“The championship is that tight that it is the tiny details and tiny issues making all the difference. We lost a chunk of time on stage one when I wasn’t really on the pace, and it would have been very different without that but overall, three stage wins across the weekend out of eight is positive.

“We had a good feeling with the car, and we will move to the next round with confidence that we can make that next step up I think.”

Paddon was impressed with what he saw, adding: “I’ve enjoyed helping Zeal and Bayden over the weekend and seeing the progress they are making in and out of the car. Seeing them standing on the podium after closing the gap to the leaders was the icing on the cake.”

The Morizo Challenge Cup is a new category run as a class within the All Japan Rally Championship. All crews compete in Toyota’s GR Yaris, where tight rules and limited modifications put the focus on driver skill and teamwork.

All drivers must be under 25 years old and the objective of the championship is to provide a stepping stone to higher rallying categories for Japan’s rising rally stars. With a Japanese mother, Jones’ entry into the championship was welcomed. 

The Kiwi duo go again at the next round at Hokkaido over the weekend of July 4-6.

Cantabrian Robbie Stokes claimed an emotional maiden rally win at home on the roads he grew up on in the third round of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship on Sunday.

Stokes, in his Stokes Motorsport Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo, led from start to finish at the Lone Star Rally of Canterbury in association with Joe’s Garage to beat reigning national champion Ben Hunt by 12 seconds.

Hunt (Skoda New Zealand Fabia Rally2 evo) was second ahead of Jack Stokes in the Stokes Motorsport Ford Fiesta AP4, who was a further 50.1 seconds adrift.

The younger Stokes’ podium finish adding to an already special day for the family as Robbie becomes the second ever second-generation driver to win a round of the national championship, following Jack Hawkeswood’s win at Otago last year.

Haydn Mackenzie completed a solid fourth place finish in the Albany Toyota Yaris AP4 while Jack Hawkeswood (Force Motorsport Toyota GR Yaris AP4) was fifth.

Bryn Jones held off Tim Mackersy in a back-and-forth battle in the NZRC 2WD class between the two Ford Fiesta Rally4 drivers.

Mackersy endured a mechanical problem in the penultimate stage that ended the fight, but still managed to finish.

Paul Cross (Toyota Corolla) was the sole finisher in the Open 2WD championship after (still) series leader Dave Strong retired in the first stage and Dylan Thomson left the road in stage 3.

Deane Buist completed another dominant performance to win the Historic 2WD class in his Ford Escort – making it three class wins on the bounce.

Tim McIver was second in his season debut in the Ford Escort while Stephen Gill (Ford Escort) was third.

Caleb MacDonald picked up his third straight win in the Rally Challenge 4WD class in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 – seeing off the challenge of Josh Keighley (Subaru Impreza H6) and Brian Green (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) while Keighley also won the Group A Challenge class.

Ian Warren survived the challenging day in his Nissan Pulsar to win the Rally Challenge 2WD class and now leads the category after Thomas Paul's Honda Civic succumbed to mechanical failure during the afternoon.

The championship takes a break over the winter months before returning with the Dayle ITM Goldrush Rally Coromandel on Saturday August 23.

The Lone Star Rally of Canterbury in association with Joe’s Garage returns to the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship for the first time since 2019 when it serves as round three this weekend. The one-day event on Sunday is based north of Christchurch, using some iconic forestry stages including Mt Grey Road, as well as North Canterbury public roads, which should provide competitors with a great mixture of stages.

Reigning national champion Ben Hunt starts as favourite in his Skoda New Zealand Fabia Rally2 evo having won the first two rounds of the season. He was also the winner last time the championship stopped in Canterbury.  

The Battle

Hunt deserves to be favourite, but he will face a stiff challenge from a handful of rivals, including three super-fast Cantabrians. The Stokes brothers – Robbie and Jack – will fancy their chances of a break-through rally win at national championship level. Both proved to be right on Hunt’s pace at the season-opening round in Otago and both know these roads well. Robbie is the closest challenger to Hunt in the championship battle in his Stokes Motorsport Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo and a maiden win can’t be far away. Jack Stokes suffered misfortune at both Otago (after leading for much of the first day of the event) and South Canterbury and should be considered a genuine threat.

Another local driver is the super consistent Josh Marston, who has put in two solid performances across the opening two rounds. Like the Stokes brothers, he knows these roads well and was champion here in 2018. The RDL Holden Barina AP4 driver is another who is in the championship battle and he will see this as a golden opportunity to get a rally win.

Jack Hawkeswood (Force Motorsport GR Yaris) is another to consider. He suffered an engine failure with a podium berth locked in at South Canterbury and appears to be getting quicker and quicker this season. Unfortunately regular Co-Driver Jason Farmer is out due to an injury, but Jared Hudson is sure to be a more than capable replacement.

The luckless Haydn Mackenzie (Albany Toyota Yaris AP4) is well overdue to have a trouble free run and that could see him as a dark horse this weekend. The talented Mackenzie has endured a tough run of mechanical dramas over his last few rallies but is more than capable of landing on the podium.  

Other Classes

Canterbury local Dylan Thomson enters the Open 2WD class in his Ford Fiesta ST150 2.3 this weekend. Thomson is a proven elite driver but gives away a lot of additional horsepower to Dave Strong (Honda Jazz RS). Strong will need to focus on his championship battle with Paul Cross (Toyota Corolla) and cannot afford a slip up trying to battle Thomson for a class win.

Deane Buist will be an overwhelming favourite in the Historic 2WD battle. Buist, another Canterbury local, has dominated the class in the opening two rounds. Behind him though the battle looks fierce, particularly with the inclusion of Tim McIver (Ford Escort) this week. He should drop right in to the Escort battle alongside Stephen Gill and Andy Martin. Pat Norris (Toyota Corolla) and Mike Cameron (Mitsubishi Lancer) will continue their gripping battle in the class as well.

Caleb MacDonald will aim to make it three straight class wins in the Rally Challenge 4WD class in his Mitsubishi EVO 6. Behind him, the Subaru H6s of Josh Keighley and Kevin Laird will keep Macdonald honest while fighting each other for places, while veteran driver Brian Green should not be discounted in his Mitsubishi EVO 9.

Darren Galbraith, fresh off a win at his home event in South Canterbury, will pace the Rally Challenge 2WD field in his Ford Fiesta ST150. It will be interesting to see how Thomas Paul (Honda Civic) and Ian Warren (Nissan Pulsar) go pursuing him on the Canterbury roads.  

Keep a close eye on

The NZRC 2WD battle has been a two-horse race between Bryn Jones and Tim Mackersy (both in Ford Fiesta Rally4 cars) and we expect that battle to be fierce this weekend. Jones has managed to edge Mackersy at the opening two rounds, but the southerner has enjoyed success against Jones in forestry stages this season. With a couple of key tests taking place in the forest on Sunday, look for Mackersy to be right on Jones across the day. To keep the pair honest, Japanese driver Fuyuhiku Takahashi is competing in the class this weekend too and could prove to be a fly in the ointment for the two title combatants.  

Best Spectating

The iconic Mt Grey Road is one of the most popular stages in New Zealand Rally and is easily accessible for spectators.

Christchurch based fans can see the cars up close at the ceremonial start at Lone Star Manchester Street from 5pm on Saturday while the rally finishes with a blast around Ruapuna Raceway on Sunday – another excellent vantage point.      

New Zealand rally stars Hayden Paddon and John Kennard overcame intense competition and muddy conditions to win the Forest Rally, 23 to 25 May, in Western Australia.  

This second round of the 2025 EROAD Australian Rally Championship was run as two single day events, like the first round in Canberra. The Kiwi stars worked hard to secure the maximum available 50 points each day and take out the rally win in their Hyundai i20 Rally2 car.  

Paddon now leads the ARC drivers’ series by 7 points over Lewis Bates and his brother Harry a further 11 points behind after two of the six championship rounds.  

Seeded fourth on the road for Saturday’s heat one, Paddon and Kennard were amongst the top-runners from the outset as expected but the competition was hot with 2020 FIA Junior World Rally Champion Tom Kristensson winning the first stage, three-time ARC champ Harry Bates taking the second, and Paddon the third.

A lot of rain made conditions very slippery in places, but high grip in others, and nothing like the iconic loose, ball-bearing surface typical of this rally run in the forests near Nannup, south of Perth near Margaret River.

Into the afternoon loop, Rally of Canberra winner Scott Pedder took the fourth stage win, then Paddon and Kennard were able to wrap up the day to their satisfaction by winning the last two stages with a margin of 12.3 seconds over Pedder, and secure maximum points for heat one.  

Sunday morning’s loop of three stages were very wet and muddy, but Paddon says drying conditions in the afternoon suited them and the car better. Four different stage winners – Kristensson, Pedder, Harry Bates and Paddon – throughout the day highlighted the intense competition with Paddon ultimately the day’s victor by a margin of just 5.4 seconds over Bates.  

Paddon was delighted to take the rally win and maximum points for the team.

“It was a really good weekend and we’re really happy to come away with the win on both days. It was more than we expected especially as the conditions were very challenging. Conditions with rain on both Saturday and Sunday made the first pass very slippery and probably didn’t work to our strengths with the car, but on the afternoon loops we were able to bring it back in some very close battles with Scott yesterday and Harry today. We had to really dig deep to try and get the result. To get the win in that fashion is very satisfying. It’s been a huge effort from everyone in the PRG team being over here for the week. It’s great to get our bid to win our first Australian championship back on track with our next challenge taking place at Rally Queensland near Gympie next month [early July].”  

Kiwi fans can follow Paddon and Kennard during all six ARC events thanks to the championship organisers providing a mix of on-stage action, interviews and analysis via live streams broadcast on the ARC’s Facebook and YouTube channels.  

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, TrialLite, Hankook, Z Energy, Blaster and Signbiz.  

Keep up with Hayden Paddon’s news via the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/paddonracinggroup. 

Rising Kiwi rallying star Zeal Jones currently sits in third position overall in the points table after three rounds of the all-Japan Morizo Challenge Cup series.

Jones and co-driver Bayden Thomson were in action last weekend in the Rally Asuka, battling their way to fourth overall in the ten-stage rally despite weather and mechanical challenges. Punctures and the loss of crucial second gear late on the first day limited the duo to fourth on times after six stages with plenty of work to do.

Day 2 was a much cleaner one for the Kiwis and they were able to focus on catching the three crews ahead of them.

They charged hard on the final four stages of ten on the rally, beginning the day 11 seconds in arrears of another podium finish.

They had battled their way to third by lunch but lost time to CUSCO teammate Shusei Matsubara on the penultimate stage.

At the close Jones and Thomson were five seconds in arrears and had to be content with fourth overall.

“First of all, I would like to congratulate my teammate Matsubara for his first podium. He drove really well. We just weren’t at his level on stage nine where he put in an absolutely great drive,” said Jones afterwards.

“Fourth place is not a bad result, but considering where we were aiming, it’s still disappointing.

“It’s only a five-second difference, but in the championship, these small differences can make all the difference. Finally, I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to the team for the great job they did, including changing the transmission during the final service on Saturday.”

“We don’t have to wait too long for the fourth round, and we’ll be coming out fighting for that first win. We’re learning all the time.”

The Morizo Challenge Cup is a new category run as a class within the All Japan Rally Championship.

All crews compete in Toyota’s GR Yaris, where tight rules and limited modifications put the focus on driver skill and teamwork.

All drivers must be under 25 years old, and the objective of the championship is to provide a stepping stone to higher rallying categories for Japan’s rising rally stars. With a Japanese mother, Jones’ entry into the championship was welcomed.

Round 4 is another Tarmac event in Cusco's home territory - The MONTTER Rally starting on June 6th.

New Zealand rally stars Hayden Paddon and John Kennard head into new challenges with the second EROAD Australian Rally Championship round taking place in Western Australia this week.  

The Forest Rally runs 23 to 25 May around the towns of Busselton and Nannup, south of Perth near Margaret River. The two day rally features a stacked entry list of 39 crews including international stars like 2020 FIA Junior World Rally Champion Tom Kristensson and co-driver Andreas Johansson of Sweden and regular local top-runners like the Bates brothers.  

With the roads described as “unique, ball-bearing gravel”, Paddon and Kennard are expecting plenty of fast, sideways-sliding action on the stages in their refreshed Hyundai i20 Rally 2 car.  

The Kiwi pair again have the support of their Cromwell-based PRG crew in Australia, with Paddon being fresh from taking the outright win at Rally South Canterbury with Jared Hudson co-driving in the team’s Hyundai i20 AP4.  

While the pair’s first Australian outing this year didn’t go to plan in March, thanks to some local wildlife, they’re looking for maximum points this coming weekend and have been working through their pre-event preparation with their usual thoroughness.  

“This is our first time competing in Western Australia,” says Paddon who’ll be starting number four on the road. “We’ve heard a lot about the loose marbles here that make it slippery, but from what we have seen from our homework, the stages look generally smooth and flowing.  

“We’ve been working on a couple of small upgrades on the car, so we are looking forward to trying to get our championship bid back on track. That means we really need to target maximum points here, but we are also expecting a lot of fast teams here like the first ARC round in Canberra. Our goal is to focus on doing the best job we can from when recce starts on Thursday until the end of the rally on Sunday night.”  

The Forest Rally gets underway with a rally show on Friday evening near the Busselton foreshore. Saturday’s six special stages take competitors into the Nannup forest and comprise two repeated loops of three stages with a total competitive distance of 103.28 km. Sunday’s six stages are also three tests repeated morning and afternoon, total 81.02 km, before the rally finish and podium celebrations in Nannup later in the day.  

Kiwi fans can follow Paddon and Kennard during all six ARC events thanks to the championship organisers providing a mix of on-stage action, interviews and analysis via live streams broadcast on the ARC’s Facebook and YouTube channels.  

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, TrialLite, Hankook, Z Energy, Blaster and Signbiz.  

Keep up with Hayden Paddon’s news via the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/paddonracinggroup. 

Quentin Palmer (Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) has taken first round honours at the 2025 Hawkeswood Mining North Island Rally Series (NIRS) which got underway on Sunday 11 May 2025 with the Ruarangi Rd Rallysprint run by the Northland Car Club.

Phil Campbell (Ford Fiesta AP4) finished runner up gaining valuable points for defending his 2023 and 2024 NIRS title, with Ben Huband (Subaru Impreza) third.  

“It’s been a surprising day,” commented Palmer who recently switched from his older Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 5 to the Skoda Fabia. “I didn’t think we’d win first time out in this car.  I thought Phil (Campbell) would be gone but he wasn’t, and I found myself on top of the timesheets.”  

Competitors faced four timed runs over the 7.0km Ruarangi Rd, Mangapai Rallysprint course (South of Whangarei) in a South to North anticlockwise direction.    

“It was a very fast cool piece of road, quite cresty and one that rewards the brave,” said Palmer.  “The new car is a new level above what I was previously used to.  Its driveability is fantastic, and it goes, stops, and turns incredibly well.  There is certainly more speed and time in there once I get more used to it.”  

Tony Young (Datsun 1200) took out Class A (2WD 0-1300cc), while Mike Goldsbury (Toyota Corolla) was fastest in Class B (2WD 1301-1600cc).  John Whooley (Honda Civic) finished ahead of Kieran Comelius (Nissan Pulsar) in Class C (2WD 1601-2000) and in Class D (2WD 2001 and over) Charlie Evans (Mazda RX7) had a commanding win ahead of Jeff Torkington (Toyota MR2) and finished fifth overall. In the Classic Class E, Kyle Percival (Ford Escort Mk2) finished ahead of Nick Flanagan (Peugeot 205).  

Palmer also picked up Class F (4WD 1601-2000) honours from Campbell while local Ben Huband (Subaru Impreza) won Class G (4WD 2001 and over) ahead of Dave Strong (Ford Fiesta S2000) after both competed in the NZ Rally Championship round, South Canterbury Rally, the day before in the South Canterbury region.  Having flown back to the North Island on Saturday evening, Huband finished third overall and Strong finished fourth overall and obviously benefited from their extra seat time. Bradley Stewart (Subaru Impreza) all the way from Danniverke took out Class I (4WD Pre 1996) ahead of Chris Burke (Toyota Celica).  

Drivers and teams now prepare for their first tarmac event of the season.  The SBT Group Taranaki Tarmac Rally have their entries open and is timed to go on Saturday 12 July 2025 based in New Plymouth.