The entry list for the upcoming Buckby Motors Rally Tasmania has been confirmed as a number of EROAD Australian Rally Championship (ARC) stars will make the journey across the Bass Strait for the season finale.
Taking place on the picturesque roads of Burnie, Tasmania, the season finale will see the 2025 title fight reach its climax as New Zealand superstars Hayden Paddon and John Kennard look to secure a maiden Australian Rally Championship title aboard their Hyundai i20N Rally2.
While their biggest title rivals in Lewis Bates and Anthony McLoughlin will be looking to spoil the Kiwis’ party, the Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia pairing will need quite a few big dominos to fall their way if they are to secure the title.
The pair will have Toyota teammates Harry Bates and Coral Taylor, who are no longer in contention for the title, to help them attempt the unlikely title, while Paddon and Kennard will have fellow Hyundai pilots Alex Rullo and Steve Glenney in their corner as they look to secure a manufacturer title outside of Toyota for the first time since 2019.
Outside of the big four, the 2025 ARC will welcome a number of notable names for the season finale with Scott Pedder and Glenn Macneall making their first appearance since Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland in their repaired Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, while popular Irishmen Richie Dalton and Mac Kierans are back for their maiden ARC round for the year in a Toyota GR Yaris AP4.
Quite possibly one of the most anticipated entries for the year will be Kiwi star Emma Gilmour, who makes her official ARC debut in the Skoda Fabia R5 alongside Ben Searcy.
Searcy co-driving for Gilmour means he won’t be alongside Peter Rullo for the first time this year, with the latter now acquiring the services of highly experienced co-driver Kelly Thomas in the Skoda Fabia R5.
The WOLF Production Cup will take an interesting turn in Tasmania as reigning champion Bodie Reading and co-driver Brad Jones look to guide their 1999 Subaru Impreza WRX to another title.
Standing in the local star’s way for outright honours will be a trio of Tasmanians, led by Aidan Peterson and Mitchell Newton in their 2001 Subaru Impreza WRX, and the two Buckby Motorsport Subaru WRXs of Ben Newman and Crichton Lewis, who have Adam Kudra and Anthony Carr as their co-drivers.
Buckby Motors Rally Tasmania will see the welcome return of Jaidyn Gluskie and new co-driver Rhys Llewellyn, with the Tasmanian driver contesting his third event for the year – a fitting result considering his big crash earlier in the year outside of the ARC.
Gluskie will be cross-entered in the WOLF Production Cup and the ARC Junior Cup, a similar entry shared by 4WD Classic Cup title rivals Shane Garner and Molly Spalding, who are also running in the ARC Production Cup. Both Garner and Spalding will have their regular co-drivers in Sylvie Garner and Matthew Dillon alongside.
In the Subaru WRX Challenge, ARC Junior Cup champion Jackson Long and Damien Long will continue their battle with Andy van Kann and Catherine Saayman, while Glenn Brinkman and Scott Beckwith return to the class after running in the Classics in Adelaide.
The 2025 ARC season finale wraps with the Buckby Motors Rally Tasmania in Burnie on 7-9 November.
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