New Zealand rally stars Hayden Paddon and John Kennard notched up another rally win in their bid to win their first 2025 EROAD Australian Rally Championship (ARC) title.  

The pair won both days of the Adelaide Hills Rally in their Hyundai i20 Rally 2 car, 3 to 5 October in South Australia, earning the maximum 50 points per day to take their respective drivers’ and co-drivers’ championship points total to 470, 85 points ahead of closest rivals Lewis Bates and Anthony Mcloughlin.  

“All in all, a pretty good weekend,” says Paddon. “It’s always about managing things, trying to build a gap in the mornings on the first loop, then manage things like tyres in the afternoons. A weekend of management is what I’ve called this one in terms of tyres and strategy, and we did what we needed to do to secure the win.”  

Saturday’s competition on the rolling roads through the Adelaide Hills saw Paddon and Harry Bates take three stage wins apiece in the first six stages, with Paddon holding the lead by just 4.4 seconds. Then, Harry crashed out of the first of four early evening stages. Paddon took one more stage win while Lewis Bates took the other three to finish the day 20.7 seconds adrift of Paddon.  

Winning the Saturday Heat extended Paddon and Kennard’s lead at the top of the standings to 81 points over Lewis and McLoughlin.  

“Obviously mission accomplished in the respect of winning Heat 1 and extending the championship lead, but it was a real shame that Harry had his little off road excursion today,” Paddon said. “It was obviously a close fight, and I think we would have been pushing each other right to the end. With Harry on the side of the road, we sort of backed off a bit in the evening just to look after tyres. But in saying that, Louis has not been far away all day as well, so it’s close.”  

Sunday’s itinerary featured eight stages, with Paddon winning five to secure another Heat win, 31.6 seconds ahead of Lewis Bates who secured maximum bonus points by winning the power stage. Fellow Hyundai driver Alex Rullo took third place in both heats.  

Of Sunday’s stages, Paddon said: “Every time we go to new stages, we seem to find a bit more performance, so we always said that the 15km stage (SS12 and SS14) was our target and winning that one really did the damage (in terms of tyres) for us.  

“It’s a very fast stage where I think everyone was in tyre management mode, including Clayton Hoy who won. When rallies are like this and require a lot of strategy, it brings in a lot of unknowns, and that’s good for everyone and good for the sport.”  

The Adelaide Hills Rally was the fifth round of the ARC’s six round championship which will conclude in Tasmania in early November, with an Endurance style event with no Heats. 100 Points for the Winner of the whole event and 10 Points for fastest on the Power Stage. So still 110 Points up for grabs.

“Being 85 points in front isn’t really a position you like to be in. I’d have preferred to either be closer or have the title wrapped up, because then you can go to Tassie and just push. But now, being in this position, we have to finish seventh or better. You’ll probably hear every little rattle and bang in the car all weekend. It makes it a lot more stressful than it probably should be.”  

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

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

Kiwi rally stars Hayden Paddon and John Kennard are staying focused on learning new stages and delivering the best result they can when they contest the Adelaide Hills Rally in their Hyundai i20 Rally2 car. Running 3 to 5 October in South Australia, this event is the fifth and penultimate round of the 2025 EROAD Australian Rally Championship (ARC).  

Paddon says despite leading their respective drivers’ and co-drivers’ championships by 71 points, he and Kennard will take the same approach they always do.  

“We’ll push as hard as we can and try to deliver a good result,” says Paddon, who won the Ashley Forest Rallysprint in North Canterbury last weekend in his Hyundai i20 AP4++ car.

“Until the last round, it’s all about collecting as many points as we can. No one gets to put the championship hat on until the last rally.”  

Paddon says he’s heard a lot of good things about this rally. “The stages look a lot smoother and more flowing, similar to New Zealand. That’s where we are comfortable and should work well with our car. We will have a small pre-event test to dial the car in, and use the lessons from the last rally to continue that momentum.  

“Like most events this year, many of the stages are the same for the local competitors, but we are enjoying the challenge of pushing ourselves on unfamiliar roads.”  

Hosted in the scenic Adelaide Hills regions, around the town of Mt Barker, the rally comprises 18 stages and 160.5 competitive kilometres split across Saturday and Sunday. Local crews have a couple of new stages to learn, while Paddon and Kennard will be competing on all stages for the first time. The Adelaide Hills Rally is the only council/shire road-based event in the 2025 ARC calendar, the other events typically using forestry roads.  

Teams can participate on a test stage on Thursday with reconnaissance of all 18 stages on Friday before a rally show in Mt Barker on Friday evening, including the ballot draw for the top three starting positions for Saturday’s Leg 1. Paddon and Kennard are seeded number two, with their closest competitors Harry Bates/Coral Taylor and Lewis Bates/Anthony Mcloughlin seeded first and third respectively.  

Like the first three ARC events of the 2025 championship, this is a sprint round where points are available based on finishing position on each day. The standings going into this weekend’s event are Paddon with 366 points, Lewis Bates 295 and Harry Bates 278. Each day’s winner earns 50 points and the fastest through the Power Stage on Sunday a bonus 10 points.  

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

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

The entry list for the Copyworld Adelaide Hills Rally has been released with a field of 18 confirmed to contest the fifth round of the 2025 EROAD Australian Rally Championship (ARC). Headlining the field will be the trio of title contenders, led by current championship leaders Hayden Paddon and John Kennard in the Paddon Racing Group 2022 Hyundai i20N Rally2.

With the Kiwi duo holding a commanding 71-point lead ahead of the South Australian round, Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia’s Harry Bates/Coral Taylor and Lewis Bates/Anthony McLoughlin need a big result behind the wheel of their competitive Toyota GR Yaris Rally2s to take the title fight to the final round.

IntelliSpatial Fleetcare Racing’s Alex Rullo and Steve Glenney continue their push to help Hyundai seal the Manufacturer’s title against the recently-dominant Toyota. They will also welcome the return of teammates Peter Rullo and Ben Searcy, who are back after a big crash in Queensland in their Hyundai earlier this year, but this time in a Skoda Fabia R5.

Adding to the battle between Toyota and Hyundai at the top of the field is Ezi Up Tyre Repair Kit’s Troy Dowell and Bernie Webb in the Toyota GR Yaris AP4, while Stewart Reid and Bella Haggarty in the SR Automotive Mitsubishi Mirage AP4 round out the outright crews.

Leading the charge in the WOLF Production Cup is another Mitsubishi, with Clayton Hoy and Erin Kelly looking to bounce back from a DNF at Gippsland last month. Behind the wheel of their Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6, Hoy and Kelly could put themselves in the box seat of the Cup title should they stand on the top step of the podium on the Sunday afternoon.

Standing in their way will be the reigning champion Bodie Reading and co-driver Brad Jones in the Les Walkden Rallying Subaru Impreza WRX, while Toby Price and Holly Kilbride’s inclusion in the class at South Australia will add another dimension to the title fight as they jump in Glenn Brinkman’s Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9.

With Danny Traverso and Anthony Carr back for a second consecutive ARC round in their Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9 following a runner-up finish in Gippsland, and Victory Ford’s Nathan Stokes and Ian Wheeler in their Subaru Impreza WRX – the class will have plenty of battles going on up and down the field.

Like Price and Kilbride, current WOLF Production Cup leaders Jackson and Damien Long will switch classes for this round, with the pair moving into the Subaru WRX Challenge thanks to the assistance of Brinkman.

Upgrading from the 2005 Subaru Impreza RS that helped him seal the ARC Junior Cup title in Gippsland to Brinkman’s 2023 Subaru Impreza WRX Challenge Car, Long will be up against Cape to Cape MTB’s Andy van Kann and Catherine Saayman in the Subaru WRX Challenge, who are back for their first event since their Forest Rally class podium in May.

Having loaned two of his regular ARC cars to Price and Long, Brinkman will revert to the third option in his ever-growing arsenal, the Kickass 12 Volt Products 1994 Ford Cosworth RS.

That sees Brinkman and co-driver Scott Beckwith cross-entered in both WOLF Production Cup and the 4WD Classic Cup – a unique double eligibility shared with Spalding Dillon Australia’s Molly Spalding and Matt Dillon in their 1995 Subaru Impreza WRX and Racing Dipsy’s Shane and Sylvie Garner, who lead the 4WD Classic Cup in their 1994 Subaru Impreza WRX.

Rounding out the entry list is Australian Truck Performance’s Tony Sullens and Kaylie Newell, who will contest both the WOLF Production Cup and the ARC 2WD on board their 2013 Citroen DS3.

The Copyworld Adelaide Hills Rally takes place in and around the forests of Mount Barker on 3-5 October.

Kiwi rally stars Hayden Paddon and John Kennard secured their third win in a row in the 2025 EROAD Australian Rally Championship (ARC) at the Gippsland Rally in Eastern Victoria, which ran 22-24 August.  

The New Zealanders finished the 216.6 km of competition across two days with a handy margin of one minute, 6.8 seconds over the second-placed crew and defending champions, Harry Bates and Coral Taylor.

Run on forestry roads near the town of Heyfield, the rally featured four night stages on Saturday evening, the first time in more than ten years that an ARC event included forest stages in darkness.  

Paddon and Kennard had almost a clean sweep with nine stage wins during Saturday’s ten stages to finish the day more than a minute ahead of Bates. Conditions were described as trying with some wet roads and accurate driving required to find the best grip.  

Saying the Hyundai i20 N Rally 2 car was running the best it’s been all season thanks to the PRG team’s preparation work, Paddon enjoyed Saturday’s stages.  

“We did most of our heavy lifting during the first loop in daylight,” said Paddon. “I really enjoyed the night stages as well, but it was tricky, especially when you are protecting the lead.”  

With eight stages to run on Sunday, Paddon’s goal was to preserve his lead and aim for maximum points. Harry Bates and his brother Lewis, who held third place, fought hard all day. While Paddon and Kennard won most of the day’s stages, Harry did secure three stage wins. The Kiwis didn’t stop the pressure, winning the end of day power stage, thereby earning maximum points from this event and extending their championship lead to 88 points with two rounds left to run.  

“It’s been a perfect weekend and a perfect result,” says Paddon. “It’s awesome for PRG come away with maximum points.

This being an endurance round means it required a slightly different approach to the first three sprint events. Once we’d built up a lead on day one here, it was a matter of maintaining that through Sunday’s stages knowing we wanted to up the ante on the final power stage for maximum bonus points.  

“All in all, the car was a dream to drive all weekend. The team has done an amazing job with the preparation and running it, and John in the car, as always, did an awesome job. What a great way to extend our championship lead and now we try and carry this momentum forward to the next event in Adelaide in October.”  

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

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

New Zealanders Hayden Paddon and John Kennard are getting ready for another brand-new-to-them rally in Australia this coming weekend, 24 to 26 August, as they line up in their Hyundai i20N Rally2 car for the Gippsland Rally in Victoria, the fourth round of the 2025 EROAD Australian Rally Championship (ARC) in Victoria.  

The Kiwis currently lead their respective drivers’ and co-drivers’ championship standings with 256 points, with this event and two more still to take place to finish the championship.  

Paddon’s closest competition are the Bates brothers, Lewis with 221 points and Harry with 192 points, and he’s expecting plenty of pressure from both Bates and other top competitors on an event they know well.  

Paddon says, “Gippsland is another new event and new conditions for us to learn during testing and recce. From what we have seen, the stages look to be medium speed and grip, but a bit smoother than some of the previous events. I’m looking forward to it.  

“Unlike the first three ARC rounds, which were sprint events where you could earn points from your finishing position each day, this is an endurance round where your points are determined by your overall place across the two days – as happens in most rallies. This magnifies the importance of finishing the rally with no problems, with no second chance for points on this event.  

“At this point of the championship, it’s important we protect our lead and keep scoring points. We are expecting a strong challenge from the Bates brothers again on stages they know well, so we will put our best foot forward to keep the pressure on.”  

A unique feature of the Gippsland Rally is the running of four night stages, the first time in more than ten years that an ARC event includes night forest competition.  

“I’m really looking forward to the night stages aspect of the rally – night rallying is my favourite, and will be a key part of the rally making up 25 per cent of the route.”  

The Gippsland Rally starts with a rally show and ceremonial start in the eastern Victoria town of Sale, while the Service Park is based further west in Heyfield.

The competition comprises 18 special stages and 216.6 competitive kilometres across two days on roads in Gippsland state forests.

Saturday’s action comprises a 65 km daylight loop, a generous Service and dinner break before 60 km of night competition and includes the Deep Creek rally stage which was voted by ARC competitors as their 2024 Stage of the Year.

Sunday’s action includes 90.94 km of competition across eight special stages.

Some of this rally’s special stages are repeated four times which could impact running conditions on the repeated runs.  

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

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

In a move harking back to the 1990s, the introduction of a new Trans-Tasman Challenge will be named in Ed Mulligan’s honour. Mulligan, who passed away earlier this year, was a stalwart of both Australian and New Zealand rallying and was well-liked on both sides of the Tasman.

The Mulligan Memorial Cup will be the prize for the Trans-Tasman Challenge, which will utilise two events in New Zealand, and two in Australia.

The events chosen for the series are ones Mulligan himself would have enjoyed immensely.

The Otago Rally and Silver Fern Rally will be the two Kiwi rallies, each events of high calibre and were some of the last Mulligan competed on. More than 250 kilometres usually make up the Dunedin-based Otago Rally, while the Silver Fern Rally is one of the only rallies in the world to cover a mammoth seven days.

South Australia’s new Flinders to Fleurieu Rally in September 2026 will be part of it, and its long-distance nature is like that of the Silver Fern. This event will run from September 21-25 in 2026. The two-day Bega Valley Rally will start the series in June 2026, an honour that organisers are thrilled to add to the event’s long CV.

The Silver Fern will be Round 3 in November 2026 with the 2027 edition of Otago in April being the final event.

The Trans-Tasman initiative fosters a friendly, but fiercely competitive, spirit between Australian and New Zealand rally competitors, with the aim of deepening ties across the Tasman, while honouring a beloved figure in the sport.

“The Mulligan Memorial Cup is named in tribute to a true rally legend whose passion, humour, and dedication left an indelible mark on all who knew him,” series co-ordinator, Owen Polanski, said.

“Ed Mulligan was a rally driver, mentor, larrikin, and motorsport tragic whose enthusiasm knew no borders. He competed passionately in both Australia and New Zealand, building lifelong friendships and always lending a hand.

“The Cup honours his legacy of competition, camaraderie, and fun. His love for gravel rallying, and the friendships it fostered, inspired the idea for this international challenge.

“This new series reflects Ed’s legacy,” he added, “a celebration of grassroots motorsport, a commitment to excellence, and a spirit of generosity and fun. By naming the trophy in his honour, the rally community ensures that his impact lives on through every stage and every story.”

Points will be awarded based on performance in each round, with overall honours awarded to the top crews representing their respective nations.

Additionally, a private dinner or lunch for participating crews will be held at each rally, while each country will host a 9-hole golf tournament, open to all registered competitors and team members. The competition will award bonus points toward the Mulligan Memorial Cup standings, rewarding both rally skill and off-track sportsmanship.

Further details on the Mulligan Memorial Cup will be announced in the coming months, ready for the series to begin in Dunedin, New Zealand, in April 2026.