The entry list for the opening round of the New Zealand Rally Championship looks like being a veritable ‘who’s who’ of Kiwi rallying.
At the head of the field, former WRC star, Hayden Paddon, will be the unbackable favourite in his Hyundai i20 AP4, despite deciding not to register for championship points this season.
After Paddon is a host of FIA spec R5 cars and even more of the locally-built AP4 cars that will thrill spectators across the two days of Dunedin’s Otago Rally.
Picking a winner isn’t easy, and there’s a strong chance that it could be Australian star, Brendan Reeves, who leads the NZ Championship after round one.
Reeves will take the wheel of Brian Stokes’ Ford Fiesta AP4 for the event, and after recently testing the car near Geraldine, Reeves is confident of being able to match it with the pacesetters.
2017 champion, Andrew Hawkeswood, will head a two-car team from his Force Motorsport squad, with his son, Jack, driving the second of their Mazda 2 AP4s.
Like Hawkeswood, Josh Marston has proven that he’s a winner in his Holden Barina AP4, while Emma Gilmour (Suzuki Swift), Phil Campbell (Ford Fiesta), Rhys Gardner (Mazda 2), and veteran driver and championship sponsor, Brian Green (Mitsubishi Mirage), will all drive AP4 cars.
Their are currently three of the WRC2-winning Skoda Fabia R5s in the field, headed by Raana Horan, and with youngsters Job Quantock and Kingsley Jones likely to be snapping at his heels.
Matt Summerfield is another likely Otago Rally winner, but as yet he hasn’t nominated what car he’ll drive. Last year he drove a Mirage AP4, but he’s previously been Subaru mounted.
Regardless of what he shows up in, he’ll be a threat to the leaders.
Those who prefer their rally cars with only two-wheel drive will also be superbly catered for.
Marcus van Klink’s incredible sounding Mazda RX8 is worth the trip to Dunedin on its own, while the Escorts of Irish superstar Frank Kelly, and local car dealer Tony Gosling, will also have rally fans salivating.
Then there’s a host of Ford Fiesta R2s, Suzuki Swifts, Toyotas and Hondas, making for one of the most competitive opening round fields the NZRC has seen for many years.
And that’s without even considering the field in the International Otago Classic Rally, headed by popular Norwegian star, Mads Ostberg.
The 2019 Otago Rally is just over three weeks away, so if you haven’t got yourself organised to head south on April 13 and 14, you’d better get cracking!
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