Jack Hawkeswood has slashed Jack Stokes’ lead in the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship to a solitary point after winning a dramatic Rally Hawke’s Bay on Saturday.
Hawkeswood, who has now split round victories two apiece with Stokes, led from start to finish in a superb drive in his Vertu Equipment Toyota Yaris Rally 2 car.
He laid down the challenge on the opening stage, taking almost 30 seconds off his title rival in the process.
Stokes had to settle for third place behind his Stokes Motorsport teammate and brother Robbie Stokes, who finished second.
The older Stokes brother looked back to his near best with an impressive drive.
Quentin Palmer (Skoda Fabia Rally 2) found himself more in the podium battle with good outright speed and showed he will be a force on the North Island roads he’s more familiar with.
Hawke’s Bay local Grant Blackberry completed the top five – dominating the Rally Challenge 4WD class in his Mitsubishi EVO 10. Blackberry turned heads with a brilliant second fastest time on the opening stage in his older model car.
The Toyota GR Yaris Rally Cup cars of Aussie star Toby Price and local driver Will Menzies finished sixth and seventh respectively in a performance that highlights the quality of the Force Motorsport product.
Jackson Clendon reminded everyone about his undeniable talent with a strong showing in his Ford Fiesta Rally 4 car to win the NZRC 2WD class.
Dave Strong claimed honours the Open 2WD class in his Honda Jazz to help close the championship gap to the absent Ari Pettigrew.
Phil Macquarie (Ford Escort) made up for missing the most recent round to win the Historic 2WD class ahead of Pat Norris (Toyota Corolla) and Mike Cameron (Mitsubishi EX Lancer). The latter two enjoyed a terrific back and forth battle that Norris ended on top of.
Hawke’s Bay locals Ben and Charlotte Harding (Mazda RX7) enjoyed a brilliant day on home roads to win the Classics class ahead of Ross McKay (Ford Escort)
The impressive Josh Silcock (Ford Fiesta) turned heads again with a terrific showing in the Rally Challenge 2WD class to claim class honours and finish top 10 overall.
Josh Keighley (Subaru Impreza) backed up second place in the Rally Challenge 4WD class with a win in the Group A Challenge.
The championship heads north to the two-day International Rally of Whangarei next month.
Results – Rally Hawke’s Bay NZ Rally Championship
Pos Driver/Co-Driver, Make, Model
1/ Jack Hawkeswood/Jason Farmer, Toyota GR Yaris Rally2
2/ Robbie Stokes/Ally Mackay, Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo
3/ Jack Stokes/Hayden Graves, Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo
4/ Quentin Palmer/Michael Goudie, Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo
5/ Grant Blackberry/Ric Chalmers, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10
6/ Toby Price/Ben Searcy, Toyota GR Yaris Rally Cup car
7/ William Menzies/Doug Dolan, Toyota GR Yaris Rally Cup car
8/ Jackson Clendon/Sean Lockyear, Ford Fiesta Rally4
9/ Josh Silcock/Daph O’Rourke, Ford Fiesta R2
10/ Josh Keighley/Neill Woolley, Subaru Impreza H6
11/ Ben Harding/Charlotte Harding, Mazda RX7
12/ Dave Strong/Rob Scott, Honda Jazz RS
13/ Roger McKay/Dean McCrostie, Ford Escort RS1800
14/ Phil Macquarie/Andrew Brooks, Ford Escort RS1800
15/ Pat Norris/Veronica Penny, Toyota Corolla AE86
16/ Mike Cameron/Kelly Carson, Mitsubishi EX Lancer
dnf Deane Buist/Karl Celeste, Ford Escort RS1800
dnf Nelson Law/Antonio Korikalo,Toyota Yaris AP4
Comments