More success for New Zealand rally driver Hayden Paddon and long-time co-driver John Kennard with the pair taking a strong victory at Rally Queensland, which ran 5 to 6 July near the town of Gympie.  

The third round of the 2025 Australian Rally Championship featured 192 competitive kilometres spread across 14 stages, and marked a milestone for the ARC, being its 350th event since its inauguration back in 1968.  

With championship points being allocated according to the results on each day of the two-day rally, the fight between the top runners was expected to be intense. Saturday played out as expected with defending ARC champions Harry Bates and Coral Taylor in a tight, day-long battle with Paddon and Kennard, each pairing winning four of the day’s eight stages. Eventually, by day’s end, Bates edged out a 3.7 second lead over Paddon.  

Paddon says Sunday’s first stage – which he won by 1.8 seconds over Bates – was a surprise.  

“We were expecting wet conditions, and it wasn’t, so we were struggling. Then after Harry had his issue, it was about managing that gap for the rest of the day. The conditions made it difficult to manage tyres and keep a good speed but happy for the whole team that we could get it home and bank maximum points today, and take the rally win.”  

The Kiwis won five of the day’s six stages, to end the day 42.5 seconds ahead of Lewis Bates and Anthony McLoughlin in second place. Paddon and Kennard have each added 90 points to extend their lead on the championship points table.  

“We didn’t expect to win this weekend but, once again, the PRG team did an incredible job. It’s nice to build a bit of a lead in the championship but we’re only halfway through and lots of things can happen on each event; it’s pretty unpredictable.”  

Paddon says he and Kennard are enjoying the challenges of learning each ARC event. “It can be tough going, when you’re trying to push on an event you’re not familiar with, but that’s why we’re here – to challenge ourselves. Each rally you’ve got to treat on its own merits. The rounds coming up may suit us a bit better, whereas these rougher ones haven’t so much, but it’s all new territory for us and we’re learning at each and every rally we go to.”  

After three very busy weeks, there’s now a gap until the fourth ARC round, the Gippsland Rally in Victoria on August 22nd.  

Keep up with Hayden Paddon and PRG via the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/paddonracinggroup.   

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

New Zealand rally driver Hayden Paddon, with Christchurch’s Jared Hudson in the co-driver’s seat, took a hard-fought second place at the Ypres Rally in Belgium, which took place 27 and 28 June. The Kiwis become the first non-Europeans to ever stand on the Ypres podium.  

The Kiwis competed in the famed Ypres all-tarmac event in a Hyundai i20N Rally2 car prepared by last year’s Belgian Champions, BMA. This year’s Ypres Rally attracted a raft of international stars such as Dani Sordo, Jos Verstappen, Freddy Loix and last year’s rally winner Stéphane Lefebvre.  

It was all on from the outset with milliseconds separating the frontrunners at times. Paddon and Hudson won Friday’s second stage, putting them into the overall lead. Despite intense challenges from Sordo and Lefebvre, the Kiwis’ consistency at delivering top three stage times throughout all of the day’s eight stages, kept them in the lead by day’s end.  

On Saturday, with 10 stages to tackle, Lefebvre chipped away at Paddon’s lead to top the standings by special stage three. Paddon and Hudson kept the pressure on and were stoked to finish on the podium, just 10.3 seconds behind Lefebvre.  

“We were very happy to come away with second in Ypres rally,” says Paddon. “We always knew it was going to be tough challenge this weekend being up against very fast locals and previous winners. Our goal was to try and get a podium finish, so we’re pleased to have done that. To be fighting for victory was probably more than we expected, particularly to be leading the rally for half of it. We put up a good fight and tried everything we could, just didn’t quite have enough at the end but, still, to be only 10 seconds shy of the winners was a good weekend for the team and car. It’s fair to say now we have unfinished business here, a bit like Ireland as well…”  

Now Paddon returns down-under for Rally Queensland which takes place 4 to 6 July near Gympie, north of Brisbane.  Paddon and longtime co-driver John Kennard now resume their bid to win their first Australian Rally Championship (ARC) titles.  

“The podium in Ypres is a good way to get a bit of momentum for Australia,” says Paddon. “It’s certainly going to be nice to be back on the gravel for the third round of the Australian Championship and back working with our PRG team and our Hyundai i20 Rally 2 car.  

“Like the first two ARC rounds, Queensland is another new event for us. We’ve got some good momentum off the back of winning the previous round in Perth, but it’s going to be challenging. What we’ll be facing in terms of road conditions will be influenced by the ballot draw between the top three seeded drivers, which includes me, Harry Bates and Scott Pedder.”  

Paddon’s goal is to get some strong points on the board. “We’re moving into the consolidation phase of the championship now where we need to make sure that we’re picking up points here – where we can earn points from each of the two days – ahead of the endurance rounds later in the season. I’m definitely looking forward to Queensland and being back working with our own team again.”  

The Kiwis each lead their respective drivers’/co-drivers’ championship points tables. Paddon has 160 points after two rounds, seven points ahead of second-placed Lewis Bates. Kennard also has 160 points ahead of Bates’ co-driver Anthony McLoughlin.  

The Queensland Rally is the third round of the six round 2025 Australian Rally Championship, and comprises 14 special stages and approximately 193 competitive kilometres. Crews complete reconnaissance of the special stages on Thursday and Friday, before Friday evening’s public rally show in downtime Gympie. Saturday’s action starts around 8.30am and the podium celebrations are planned for around 4.30pm Sunday.  

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

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.