Kiwi rally star Hayden Paddon and co-driver John Kennard have again put their names in world motorsport history books, becoming the first non-Europeans and first New Zealanders to win the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) title.

The New Zealanders secured the 2023 ERC title at the championship’s seventh round in the Czech Republic, Barum Czech Rally Zlin on 19 and 20 August, but not without drama after Sunday morning incident in their Hyundai i20 Rally 2 car run by BRC Racing.  

Despite collecting a tree on the ninth stage and having to retire from the event, Paddon was able to win the title with one round to go thanks to the 55-point championship lead he had over second-placed Martin Sesks, from Latvia, going into this rally. ERC regulations state that competitors must drop their worst result for the final calculation of championship points. Paddon’s retirement from this rally made it the result to drop and put the onus on Sesks to earn at least 20 points in Czechia to stay in with a chance for the title at October’s final ERC round in Hungary. In the end, Sesks final position of 12th was not enough to change Paddon’s opportunity to add the European Rally Championship title to his achievements as New Zealand’s most successful rally driver.  

From the outset, Paddon and Kennard drove conservatively, knowing they had to manage any risk to their championship lead while competing in this fast, twisty, and bumpy tarmac rally for the first time.   

Paddon says the rally was always going to be tough, being his first time on the roads around host city Zlin and up against highly experienced locals like Jan Kopecky who won the rally by 23.4 secondsfor the 11th.  

With the rally getting underway on Friday evening in the centre of Zlin, the Kiwis came through Saturday morning’s three stages in eighth place overall. Some setup changes at the lunchtime service helped stabilise the car and allowed them to continue with their no-risk pace on the unforgiving roads. Paddon was happy to improve to fifth overall after Saturday’s afternoon stages and just 42.8 seconds off rally leader Kopecky.  

A strong run in Sunday’s opener moved them up to fourth overall but contact with a tree ripped a wheel off the Hyundai and forcing Paddon’s retirement from the rally.  

“This rally can’t be underestimated and while, in the end, it didn’t go quite as we’d have liked, we’ve learned a lot and if we can come back next year, we’d be in a much stronger position than we were when we started here this year.   

“Sure, it wasn’t quite how we planned to secure the title,” says Paddon, “but in terms of championship wins this is our biggest achievement so far. It’s a season’s worth of work, not just one rally, here in Europe and back at home with both team and for John and me.   

“We’re proud to bring this one home and it’s the result of six really good ERC rallies in a row. That put us in a good position to have a bad round, so all in all, looking at the season as a whole, we can be proud of the results.”  

Paddon pays credit to BRC Racing, saying they’ve worked non-stop on the car’s development this season. “They’ve been incredible to work with. Thanks also to John who’s made a big commitment to be part of this and our sponsors and fans back home. It’s an awesome result for everyone involved and hopefully it’s something we can build on in the future.”

  Now in their 18th year of competition together, co-driver John Kennard ranks their ERC title right up there among the achievements gained alongside Paddon although, for him, nothing will top their victory at WRC Argentina in 2016.

  “There are an enormous number of people to thank for their contributions to this victory,” says Kennard, from Blenheim. “Not only the team at BRC Racing but everyone in the background helping make this happen, our sponsors and supporters around the world, and especially the Kiwis who’ve travelled to watch us this weekend.  

“This rally is a special rally even in Czech. It’s extremely challenging for everybody. The roads are bumpy, narrow, sometimes with gravel across the tarmac surface and sometimes muddy from damp conditions – it’s completely different to anything else we do.  

“It’s fantastic to have our supporters here this weekend and the car’s been fantastic too. We’ve been working with BRC Racing on the car all season and you can see the improvements from the time’s Hayden has been putting up.”   Paddon now returns to New Zealand for a busy two months including the fourth round of the New Zealand Rally Championship in the Manawatu, the Ashley Forest Rallysprint and the Waimate Horsepower Hillclimb.   

Paddon and Hyundai New Zealand Rally appreciate the support of Hyundai New Zealand, Mitre 10 Trade, Z Energy, Makita, Open Country, Bars Bugs, Pirelli, OMP/Racer Products, Winmax Brake Pads, South Canterbury Road Safety, Ben Nevis Station, Bailey Caravans, Repco NZ, Highlands Motorsport Park, MITO, ETCO, Jacanna Freight, Pak N’ Save, Machinery House, Bartercard, Mike Greer Homes, Provident Insurance, Zealandia Systems, Carters Tyres and Signbiz.

New Zealand’s Hayden Paddon and co-driver John Kennard are 100% focused on securing the 2023 FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) title when the seventh round takes place in the Czech Republic from 19 to 20 August.  

“The target in Zlin is to wrap up the championship,” says Paddon. “The rally result will be irrelevant; it’s all about being strategic with our driving to try and win the championship. This is something the BRC Racing team, John and I have been working hard towards all year.”  

With a 55-point lead over second-placed Latvian Martins Sesks, Paddon goes into Barum Czech Rally Zlin as the number one seed. But he’s not worried about his final position in this rally, other than in relation to where Sesks finishes. The Czech rally is the penultimate ERC round and competitors need to drop their worst round for the final calculation of championship points, so as long as Sesks is unable to secure enough points in Czechia or the final round in Hungary in October, the title is Paddon’s for the taking.  

If Paddon and Kennard can secure the ERC title, they’ll become the first New Zealanders and the first non-Europeans to win the drivers’ and co-drivers’ championship titles in the ERC’s 70-year history.

And while Paddon and Kennard haven’t ever driven the special stages of this two-day rally in and around the city of Zlin, that won’t hinder their focus on securing a result good enough to wrap up the championship. The two Kiwi rally stars have vast experience working together writing fresh pace notes and delivering worldclass performances whether they’re on familiar roads at home or new roads on the other side of the world.  

“It’s our first time rallying in the Czech Republic, and it certainly looks like the most challenging rally we will encounter this year,” says Paddon. “I have heard a lot of positive things about how passionate the fans are there and look forward to being a part of that.”

Paddon says the stages look to be very bumpy, narrow, slippery and fast. “That’s quite a challenging combination and maybe don’t play to my traditional strengths, so it’s important John and I, together with our team BRC Racing deliver on our clear target, which is championship focused rather than rally focused.”    

Paddon and Kennard join BRC Racing for a brief test in their Hyundai i20 Rally 2 car before the rally where they’ll finetune the unique higher and softer setup needed for this high speed tarmac rally. Barum Czech Rally Zlín ran for the first time in 1971 and is described as a tarmac test like no other due to the bumpy and sometimes broken nature of the road surface. Several stages feature high-speed blasts through forests and intermittent showers are always possible. Huge numbers of fans follow the action, especially on the opening night-time Zlín superspecial stage. This event has been part of the ERC for more than 50 years and features a permanent service park hosted by event sponsor Continental Barum at their giant tyre factory and distribution centre in nearby Otrokovice.  

The rally officially gets underway on Friday evening with an opening super special stage in the streets of Zlín. Saturday’s schedule comprises six stages, being three stages repeated morning and afternoon. Another six stages take place on Sunday, making a total of 13 stages and 200.43 km of competition.    

Paddon and Hyundai New Zealand Rally appreciate the support of Hyundai New Zealand, Mitre 10 Trade, Z Energy, Makita, Open Country, Bars Bugs, Pirelli, OMP/Racer Products, Winmax Brake Pads, South Canterbury Road Safety, Ben Nevis Station, Bailey Caravans, Repco NZ, Highlands Motorsport Park, MITO, ETCO, Jacanna Freight, Pak N’ Save, Machinery House, Bartercard, Mike Greer Homes, Provident Insurance, Zealandia Systems, Carters Tyres and Signbiz.      

The coordinators of the Mainland Rally Championship are pleased to announce that the Westland rally will proceed as planned on Saturday the 25th of November.

This has been brought about as a result of a collaborative effort between the Championship coordinators and the Westland Car Club.

The event will feature traditional West Coast stages such as Lady Lake, Mitchells, and possibly a return to Lake Kaniere. Stage distance will be around 110 – 120 km with a start time in Greymouth at 8:00 am and finish back in Greymouth around 4:00 pm.

The Event will Start and Finish from the Recreation Hotel and Prizegiving held there at around 8:00 pm and as this will be the final round of the Mainland Rally Championship, the annual awards presentation will follow.

More information will follow as final details are put in place. 

A close-fought third place in his first attempt at the all-tarmac Rally di Roma Capitale over the weekend has enabled Kiwi rally star Hayden Paddon to extend his lead in 2023 FIA European Rally Championship (ERC).  

Paddon now has a 55 point lead over second-placed Latvian Martins Sesks with two rounds of the championship to go and competitors yet to drop their worst round for the calculation of final championship points.  

Driving with long-time co-driver John Kennard, from Blenheim, Cromwell-based Paddon went into the sixth ERC round knowing he was up against several very fast local drivers who had a lot more experience on the special stages around Rome and nearby Fiuggi than he did.  

The rally started on Friday with a short, 1.3 km blast around the Colosseum before six stages on Saturday. Paddon and Kennard jumped from ninth overall after Friday’s super special stage to sixth and then fourth overall by Saturday lunchtime. Then a small mistake on the day’s longest, 32.3km stage nearly stopped the Kiwis’ strong run. Thankfully they were able to repair the rear suspension sufficiently to make it back to service where BRC Racing quickly repaired the Hyundai i20 Rally2 car for the day’s final test. They wrapped up the day sixth overall, 56.7 seconds off the leader, Italian driver Andrea Crugnola and with their closest championship rival Martins Sesks out of the rally with mechanical issues resulting from a Roll Over in SS4.

Sunday’s six stages included two new tests which gave Paddon and Kennard some advantage due to their trademark thoroughness with their pace notes. A stage win on SS9 took them back into fourth overall. Another stage win on SS12 took them into third overall and they finished in third, 53.8 seconds off Crugnola.  

“Overall, it’s been a very good weekend with the final result more than we expected against the level of competition here,” says Paddon. “The team, John, everyone did a great job as part of securing this result.  

“There are so many fast drivers here and, in comparison, we were lacking experience on these stages. So we were happy to see how competitive we were on day one, amongst the top five. On Saturday afternoon, we made a small mistake and went wide which broke the rear suspension. We were lucky to survive that moment as it looked like the damage could have been worse than it actually turned out to be. Fortunately, we were able to repair it ourselves and get back to Service, but obviously we dropped a couple of positions.  

“The target on Sunday was to get back to P4. With problems for others, we got back into fourth overall. Then being able to push today on a couple of new-to-all stages and get two stage wins helped us get into third overall.    

“Third is absolutely perfect for the championship. We’ve got a pretty good lead now, but the job’s not done. We need to go the next rally with the same preparation and focus to try and wrap up the championship there in Barum.”  

Round seven of the ERC is Barum Czech Rally Zlin which takes place on 19 and 20 August.  

Paddon and Kennard now each have 163 points in their respective ERC driver/co-driver championships. Second place is held by Latvian Martins Sesks with 108 points, and Mads Ostberg holds third with 80 points.    

Paddon and Hyundai New Zealand Rally appreciate the support of Hyundai New Zealand, Mitre 10 Trade, Z Energy, Makita, Open Country, Bars Bugs, Pirelli, OMP/Racer Products, Winmax Brake Pads, South Canterbury Road Safety, Ben Nevis Station, Bailey Caravans, Repco NZ, Highlands Motorsport Park, MITO, ETCO, Jacanna Freight, Pak N’ Save, Machinery House, Bartercard, Mike Greer Homes, Provident Insurance, Zealandia Systems, Carters Tyres and Signbiz.      

New Zealand rally stars Hayden Paddon and John Kennard take on the high speed asphalt roads around Rome and nearby Fiuggi for the first time when the Rally di Roma Capitale takes place in Italy this weekend (27-30 July). The rally is the sixth round of the 2023 FIA European Rally Championship (ERC).  

Paddon is currently leading the ERC drivers’ championship and is the number one seed on this rally’s 34-strong entry list, but he’s not underestimating the challenges of competing against many fast local competitors where he’ll be driving the BRC Racing-prepared Hyundai i20 Rally2 car.  

“We are getting to the business end of the championship now with the Rome event the first of three tarmac rallies to wrap up the ERC season,” says Paddon. “We’re at the point where it’s almost irrelevant where we finish in the rally. The sole focus in to finish ahead of our main championship rivals to maintain or extend our points’ advantage. We’ll be watching what they do closely.”  

Paddon and Kennard now each have 142 points in their respective driver/co-driver championships. Second place is held by Latvian Martins Sesks with 108 points, and Mads Ostberg (not competing at this round) holds third with 80 points.  

Paddon acknowledges doing this rally for the first time works against him a little. “All 13 stages are the same as last year which makes it a little harder for us against the competition. But John and I are looking forward to our recce of these technical stages in what looks to be very warm weather.”

While he has experience of several other Italian rallies, they had a different character. “We do know how fast the Italians are on their home soil, so we expect the competition to be seriously fast.”  

This week, Paddon and Kennard will complete a small pre-event test on Wednesday, taking the car’s setup from the only other tarmac ERC rally so far this season in the Canary Islands and adjusting accordingly.  

The rally gets underway on Friday evening with an opening super special stage near Rome’s famed Colosseum, then they tackle 189km of special stages around the rally base in Fiuggi, a thermal spa town southeast of Rome.    

Paddon and Hyundai New Zealand Rally appreciate the support of Hyundai New Zealand, Mitre 10 Trade, Z Energy, Makita, Open Country, Bars Bugs, Pirelli, OMP/Racer Products, Winmax Brake Pads, South Canterbury Road Safety, Ben Nevis Station, Bailey Caravans, Repco NZ, Highlands Motorsport Park, MITO, ETCO, Jacanna Freight, Pak N’ Save, Machinery House, Bartercard, Mike Greer Homes, Provident Insurance, Zealandia Systems, Carters Tyres and Signbiz.

Pukekohe rally driver Zeal Jones, 18, has won the Bruce McLaren Trophy by topping the points table for the 2023 Elite Motorsport Academy of New Zealand camp.

The Elite Motorsport Academy is an annual competitor development program put on by the MotorSport New Zealand Scholarship Trust for eight young and aspiring motorsport athletes.

A week-long camp in Dunedin at the Otago Academy of Sport is the first part of the tailored 12-month development program each recipient receives.

Following a series of workshops, participants were assessed not only on their physical fitness but their newly acquired knowledge in sports psychology, nutrition, data analysis, public speaking/media skills, and motorsport regulations and procedures.

Participants were also split into two teams and completed challenges together to assess their interpersonal skills and how they work as a team. Jones’ performance across the week saw him consistently performing at the high end of all challenges and learning activities.

“Our sincere congratulations go to Zeal for his top-of-the-class performance at the Elite Motorsport Academy camp this week,” said Wayne Christie, President of MotorSport New Zealand and trustee of the MotorSport New Zealand Scholarship Trust.

“It means everything to me,” said Jones upon being announced as the winner.

“You can prepare for it as much as you like physically, but all the mental learnings are so valuable. I took a lot away from the nutrition and hydration sessions, it was really valuable to me. The media and other mental skills are also super important and I look forward to putting what I’ve learnt into practice.

“It’s a competition, but we made really good friends all around us. I really wanted to take on this opportunity this year, it was one of my goals so to achieve this it’s really cool.

“I can’t recommend it enough for young drivers, you should really apply next year.”

Morrinsville racer and 2023 Toyota 86 runner-up Clay Osbourne ended the camp week second on the point table while Formula Ford racer Blake Knowles was third.

All eight academy participants will now continue their development with a personalised 12-month follow-up program where their progress will continue to be assessed before crowning an overall academy and Ian Snellgrove Trophy winner in May 2024.

Applications for the 2024 Elite Motorsport Academy will open later in October 2023 for the next crop of aspiring competitors who want the best kickstart to their motorsport careers.

The Elite Motorsport Academy and MotorSport New Zealand Scholarship Trust are thankful for the support of Hyundai New Zealand, Toyota GAZOO Racing New Zealand, MotorSport New Zealand and their other funding partners.        

A finely judged second place at the Royal Rally of Scandinavia in Sweden ensured that New Zealand rally stars Hayden Paddon and John Kennard were able to extend their lead in the 2023 FIA European Rally Championship (ERC).  

The Swedish event took place 7 and 8 July as round 5 of the ERC and offered Paddon his first taste of competing in Sweden in summer.  

Paddon finished second by just 22.5 seconds to WRC2 regular Oliver Solberg after a close-fought battle over 182.6 competitive km.  

Paddon and Kennard won six of the rally’s 16 special stages, including the bonus points-scoring power stage on Saturday afternoon which Paddon won, earning the maximum five points, having strategically saved his tyres during the afternoon’s earlier stages.  

Paddon and Kennard now each have 142 points in their respective driver/co-driver championships. Paddon has increased his lead slightly over second-placed Latvian Martins Sesks, who now has 108 points, the gap between Paddon and Sesks now extending from the previous 30 points to 34 points.

For Paddon, the rally was always going to be about balancing his aim of earning championship points and fighting for outright victory, particularly with Solberg among the competition.  

“Overall, we’re really happy with the result,” said Paddon. “We always knew it was going to be tough with some new and very fast competition this weekend, so the target was to stay ahead of our main championship rivals Martins Sesks and Mads Ostberg, which I’m pleased to say we did.”    

Paddon acknowledges it was hard separating the desire to take more risks to try and win the rally versus the need to earn maximum championship points. “So, it was a matter of driving fast enough to keep the pressure on Oliver, but trying not to take unnecessary risks. Points are worth gold to us at the moment and being able to extend our championship lead is perfect. It’s been an amazing rally on amazing roads, and we’ve all enjoyed it a lot. Our thanks to BRC Racing for once again preparing and running the Hyundai i20 Rally2 car perfectly.”

Next up for Paddon and the BRC-run Hyundai i20 Rally2 car is the tarmac Rally di Roma Capitale at the end of July. The rally is based in Fiuggi, a thermal spa town southeast of Rome, and features two days of challenging stages with an opening super special stage near Rome’s famed Colosseum.    

Paddon and Hyundai New Zealand Rally appreciate the support of Hyundai New Zealand, Mitre 10 Trade, Z Energy, Makita, Open Country, Bars Bugs, Pirelli, OMP/Racer Products, Winmax Brake Pads, South Canterbury Road Safety, Ben Nevis Station, Bailey Caravans, Repco NZ, Highlands Motorsport Park, MITO, ETCO, Jacanna Freight, Pak N’ Save, Machinery House, Bartercard, Mike Greer Homes, Provident Insurance, Zealandia Systems, Carters Tyres and Signbiz.