Ben Hunt has got one hand on the 2024 Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship title after the opening day of the International Rally of Whangarei.
Hunt sits second to rally leader and fellow title contender Hayden Paddon after a dramatic opening day, in which the leading drivers that could threaten Hunt’s chances of the second-place finish that would secure him a third national title, fell by the wayside.
Paddon (Hyundai New Zealand i20 Rally 2) leads the rally by two minutes and 38 seconds from Hunt (Skoda New Zealand Fabia Rally 2).
Emma Gilmour (Vantage NZ Citroen C3) edged Dylan Thomson, in an older model Subaru Impreza for third place ahead Haydn Mackenzie (Albany Toyota Yaris AP4).
Earlier, talented youngster Zeal Jones (Smith & Sons Skoda Fabia R5) slid off the road on the second stage after posting the second fastest time on SS1 while Robbie Stokes (Stokes Motorsport Ford Fiesta AP4) crashed on the third stage.
Andrew Graves was crowned champion in the Rally Challenge 4WD class and the Group A Challenge after another superb drive in his Mitsubishi EVO 6.
Graves came home in front of Jay Pittams (Subaru Impreza) and Carter Strang (Mitsubishi EVO 10) to claim the title in emphatic fashion.
Graves led home Pittams and James Macdonald (Subaru Impreza) in the Group A Challenge, meaning the Gore driver will do the title double.
Jared Parker successfully defended his Rally Challenge 2WD crown after winning the class on his first ever visit to Whangarei.
Parker (Toyota Corolla) beat Kyle Percival (Ford Escort) by over three minutes with Pat Norris (Toyota Yaris) finishing third and securing runner-up in the title battle.
Bryn Jones holds the lead in the NZRC 2WD class after very strong drive in his Ford Fiesta Rally 4.
He holds a lead of over two minutes over Jack Stokes (Ford Fiesta) and Tim Mackersy (Ford Fiesta).
Willy Hawes (Toyota 86) trails Dave Strong (Honda Jazz) by just over a minute in the Open 2WD battle. Hawes just needs to finish the event to collect enough points to secure the 2024 title, however.
Anthony Jones holds a dominant lead in the Historic 2WD class in his Ford Escort. He leads champion-in-waiting Paul Fraser (Ford Escort) while Mike Cameron will rejoin after electrical trouble in his Mitsubishi Lancer on Saturday.
The action continues on Sunday with a further eight special stages.
Day 1 Results – International Rally of Whangarei
1/ Hayden Paddon/Jared Hudson, Hyundai i20N Rally2 1:25:54.4
2/ Ben Hunt/Tony Rawstorn, Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo +2:38.8
3/ Emma Gilmour/Malcolm Read, Citroen C3 Rally2 +4:36.4
4/ Dylan Thomson/Bayden Thomson, Subaru Impreza +4:36.8
5/ Haydn Mackenzie/Kieran Anstis, Toyota Yaris AP4 +5:24.5
6/ Andrew Graves/Hayden Graves, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3 +6:20.5
7/ Stewart Reid/Bella Haggarty, Mitsubishi Mirage AP4 +8:22.8
8/ Jay Pittams/Jean-Paul van Der Meys, Subaru Impreza +8:45.3
9/ Carter Strang/Catriona Flynn, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10 +9:02.2
10/ Gavin Feast/Matt Hayward, Subaru WRX +9:10.0
11/ Ben Huband/Noel Moloney, Subaru WRX +9:20.0
12/ Bryn Jones/Sean Lockyear, Ford Fiesta Rally4 +9:38.1
13/ Joshua Keighley/Ben Trevelyan, Subaru Impreza H6 +10:27.0
14/ Pierre-Henri Brunet/Mal Peden, Ford Fiesta Proto +10:44.6
15/ James Macdonald/Josh Edwards, Subaru Impreza H6 +11:04.8
16/ Anthony Jones/Zoe Jones, Ford Escort Mk2 +11:28.3
17/ Eugene Creugnet/Philippe Delrieu, Mitsubishi Mirage AP4 +11:35.9
18/ Antony Te Rito/Blair Howlett, Honda Civic +11:50.5
19/ Jack Stokes/Sarah Faulkner, Ford Fiesta R2 +11:51.7
20/ Julien Lenglet/Fleur Pedersen, Subaru Impreza +11:58.2
21/ Tim Mackersy/Lauren Mackersy, Ford Fiesta Rally4 +11:59.7
22/ Brian Green/Brianna Little, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 +14:55.9
23/ Dave Strong/Rob Scott, Honda Jazz RS +16:23.7
24/ Willy Hawes/Jason Dwyer, Toyota 86 +17:31.7
25/ Jared Parker/Kyle Shears, Toyota FX Corolla +18:23.0
26/ Kyle Percival/Chris Alexander, Ford Escort Mk2 +21:52.2
27/ Nick Flanagan/Tristan Baker-Lees, Peugeot 205 +23:11.4
28/ Adrian Sutton/Stephen Dill, Nissan Pulsar +27:52.3
29/ Paul Fraser/Mark Parsons, Ford Escort Mk2 +28:09.9
30/ Naveen Puligilla/Santhosh R Thomas, Proton Satria +31:14.1
31/ Pat Norris/Darryl McManus, Toyota Vitz +34:02.3
dnf Robbie Stokes/Ally Mackay, Ford Fiesta AP4
dnf Zeal Jones/Waverley Jones, Skoda Fabia R5
dnf Masatoshi Konishi/Kazuto, Suzuki Toyota GR Yaris
dnf Caleb MacDonald/Larisa Biggar, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6
dnf Brent Taylor/Chris Ramsay, Toyota 86
dnf McCrae Sloper/Nikki Gibbs, BMW 328i
dnf Rodney James/Adam Miller, Toyota MR2
dnf Jeff Torkington/Nastassia Subritzky, Toyota MR2
dnf George Feast/Hamish Feast, Subaru Impreza WRX
dnf Marc Huband/Richard Yallop, Toyota Corolla
dnf Mike Cameron/Helen Cameron, Mitsubishi Lancer
dnf Kimito Kondo/Hiroki Kondo, Suzuki Swift
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