Paddon pips van Gisbergen for Daybreaker win

Against the elements and position on the heavily gravelled roads of the Manawatu and Rangitikei districts, Cromwell’s Hayden Paddon and co-driver John Kennard won Saturday’s 2023 Daybreaker Rally, powered by Brian Green Properties.

Finishing in second was Gold Coast based Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen (main photo) and co-driver Glen Weston, with Auckland’s Raana Horan and co-driver Dave Neill climbing to claim the final podium position.

Departing Feilding 5:30am, just as day started to break, the 88-car field headed for the first of nine special stages that would determine the finishing order. The event was resurrected to include being a round of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC).

Leading the field into the first stage, Paddon set fastest time in his Hyundai i20N Rally 2 car with van Gisbergen second. The pair maintained the same positions for the entire day as the event travelled through sunny warm and dusty sections around Taihape and the northern part of the route. By early afternoon the forecast rain greeted the travelling event, dramatically changing the road conditions.

While the challenge of the event over-stretched the driving ability of some, mechanical issues plagued others. A total of 60 made it to the finish ramp – having completed the Central ITM Super Stage at Manfeild in atrocious wet conditions.

“It was awesome to experience these roads for the first time,” said Paddon, who extended his lead in the five-round championship with the win. “They are very unique to the rest of the country – very twisty and a lot more technical than I expected. It was one of the twister rallies we’ve done for a while so having full trust in the pace notes we’ve never checked was interesting, but they worked and John did an awesome job.

“It was quite interesting in these conditions when it is so loose – you have to have to find that balance between pushing and not having the car sliding too much. It was a rally of two halves with the rain in the afternoon but very enjoyable.”

For van Gisbergen it was a reliable run in the loaned Audi S1 AP4 car – redemption for an electrical issue that halted his previous championship rally attempt.

Running second on the road behind Paddon, van Gisbergen set second fastest time on all nine stages.

“It was tough in the morning learning the roads and in the dust. Then with the rain in the afternoon it was slop in the end – it was difficult but so much fun.

“Hayden was really quick at the start and managed the lead well. I felt I got better throughout the day and hopefully I don’t feel as rusty when I next get into the car in a month’s time.

Horan’s third place finish in the Skoda Fabia R5 keeps the NZRC title chase alive. Now 14 points behind Paddon’s total of 118, Horan still has a mathematical chance of being champion.

Top Manawatu local Geof Argyle and co-driver Kester Olivicorona finished eighth in a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 7 while fastest two-wheel drive competitor was Rangiora’s Marcus van Klink and co-driver Toby Marsh (Mazda RX8) 11^th overall.

Taupo’s Mason Grimmer and co-driver Leighton Spurdle won the Don Locke Memorial Trophy for spirited competition. Grimmer’s dad Peter was one of the trophy contributors – celebrating the long-term family involvement in the sport.

Co-event organiser Tony McConachy awarded the inaugural Starlet Cup to Upper Hutt’s Brendon Cantwell and co-driver Lee Herd – in recognition for his result as a new competitor in a Toyota Starlet.

Overall results

1	Hayden Paddon	John Kennard	Hyundai	i20 N Rally2
2	Shane van Gisbergen	Glen Weston	Audi	S1 AP4
3	Raana Horan	Dave Neill	Skoda	Fabia Rally2 evo
4	Todd Bawden	Katrina Renshaw	Ford	Fiesta R5 MkII
5	Ben Hunt	Tony Rawstorn	Skoda	Fabia Rally2 evo
6	Grant Blackberry	Ric Chalmers	Mitsubishi	Lancer Evo 10
7	Jeff Ward	Matt Hayward	Subaru	Impreza WRX
8	Geof Argyle	Kester Olivecrona	Mitsubishi	Lancer Evo 8
9	Zeal Jones	Matt Sayers	Subaru	Impreza WRX
10	Andy Martin	Rocky Hudson	VW	Polo GTi RS
11	Marcus van Klink	Toby Marsh	Mazda	RX3
12	Sean Haggarty	Shane Reynolds	Subaru	Impreza WRX
13	William Menzies	Doug Dolan	Mitsubishi	Lancer Evo 6
14	Eugene Creugnet	Philippe Delrieu	Mitsubishi	Mirage AP4
15	Bruce Herbert	Bevan Parker	Mitsubishi	Lancer EX Turbo
16	David Sievers	Kieran Anstis	Subaru	Impreza WRX
17	Anthony Jones	Jared Hudson	Ford	Escort Mk2
18	John Silcock	Donna Elder	Mazda	Group B RX7
19	Julien Lenglet	Ben Huband	Subaru	Impreza WRX
20	Shane Murland	Kane Seymour	Ford	Escort RS1800
21	Bryn Jones	Sean Lockyear	Ford	Fiesta Rally4
22	Brian Green	Fleur Pedersen	Mitsubishi	Lancer Evo 9
23	Charlie Evans	Dayna Kiekebosch	Honda	Civic
24	Justin Glavish	Michele Brunt	Toyota	Starlet
25	Wayne Muckle	Matt Dellit	Mitsubishi	Lancer Evo 6 GpA
26	Tim Mackersy	Lauren Mackersy	Ford	Fiesta R2T
27	Stuart Moore	Ben Harper	Mitsubishi	Lancer Evo 5
28	Daniel Haines	Matt Priest	Ford	Escort MkII
29	Dave Strong	Carol Liston	Honda	Jazz RS
30	Mason Grimmer	Leighton Spurdle	Mazda	323 4WD
31	Andrew Spier	Daniel Baines	Mitsubishi	Lancer Evo 6
32	Brendon Cantwell	Lee Herd	Toyota	Starlet
33	Lyndsay Homes	Brandon Elder	Toyota	Starlet
34	Paul Tulloch	Craig Strachan	Mitsubishi	Lancer GSR
35	Dan Cowper	Andrew Bielby	Subaru	Impreza WRX Sti
36	Amy Keighley	Nikita Gibson	Subaru	Magnum H6
37	Simon Bicknell	Daniel Feck	Subaru	Impreza
38	Jonathan Shapley	Andrew Brooks	Toyota	Vitz RS Turbo
39	Nelson Law	Victor Korikalo	Mitsubishi	Lancer Evo 9
40	Adam Fisher	Marty Bertelsen	Toyota	Starlet
41	Jared Parker	Kyle Shears	Toyota	Corolla FX GT
42	Dan Alexander	Nikki Gibbs	Toyota	Starlet
43	Keith Stewart	Carol-Ann Perfect	Ford	Escort RS1600
44	James Bracefield	Sarah Faulkner	Mazda	RX7
45	Geoff Warren	Sarah Jaggs	Subaru	Impreza WRX
46	Jason Timmins	Lachlan Timmins	Mitsubishi	Lancer EX
47	Peter Weir	Justin Rankin	BMW	M3
48	Pat Norris	Kevin Cooke	Toyota	Yaris
49	Andrew Treseder	Mark Riach	Mazda	RX7
50	Clint Clunie	Blair Read	Toyot	Starlet
51	Tim James	John Mulrennan	Mazda	RX3 Coupe
52	Dylan Thomson	Bayden Thomson	Ford	Fiesta Rally4
53	Murray Percival	Kyle Percival	Ford	Escort
54	Peter Farrell	Cole Robinson	Mazda	RX7 FD3
55	Kevin Preest	Trevor Corbin	Suzuki	Baleno
56	Gordon Diggle	Jody Seabright	Mitsubishi	Mirage
57	Andrew Lowe	Ian Barr	Toyota	Corolla
58	Mike Cameron	Helen Cameron	Mitsubishi	Lancer
59	Brett Maddren	Erik Johnsson	Toyota	Starlet GT
60	Jilly Fisher	Kylie Cotton	Toyota	Corolla GT
dnf	Matt Jensen	Samantha Gray	Mazda	2 AP4
dnf	Quentin Palmer	Noel Moloney	Mitsubishi	Lancer Evo 9
dnf	Kingsley Jones	Brianna Little	Mitsubishi	Lancer Evo 6
dnf	Jackson Clendon	Tania Cresswell	Ford	Fiesta Rally4
dnf	Jordan Grant	Glenn Goldring	Suzuki	Swift Sport
dnf	Glenn Alcorn	Jonathan Charlesson	Ford	Escort RS2000
dnf	Stewart Reid	Bella Haggarty	Mazda	RX7
dnf	Lukas Ramsay	Olivia Robinson	Ford	Fiesta R2
dnf	Karl Robinson	Chantelle Robinson	Nissan	Bluebird
dnf	Christopher Gracie	Vivian Eden	Honda	Civic
dnf	Ben Harding	Chris Calder	Mazda	Group B RX7
dnf	Pierre-Henri Brunet	Malcolm Peden	Ford	Fiesta Proto
dnf	Andrew Elder	Len Fisher	Mitsubishi	Lancer Evo 4
dnf	Jason Weld	Jeremy Sinclair	Datsun	WRC 180B
dnf	Bradley Stewart	Josh Alexander	Subaru	Impreza WRX
dnf	Steve Cox	Laurie Brenssell	Toyota	Starlet
dnf	John-Paul van Der Meys	Corinne Cutler	Ford	Fiesta ST
dnf	Rodney James	Adam Miller	Toyota	MR2
dnf	Sam Byrne	Raymond Bennett	Mitsubishi	Lancer MR
dnf	Jeff Torkington	Nastassia Subritzky	Toyota	MR2
dnf	Kim Lace	Dan Hole	Mitsubishi	Lancer Evo VI
dnf	Chris Alexander	Kim Raggett	Toyota	Corolla
dnf	Greg Browne	Sean Browne	Honda	Integra
dnf	Chuck Newton	Anna Newton	BMW	316ti
dnf	Callum McKenzie	Darryn Fulton	Mazda	MX5
dnf	Steven Blackley	Sean Blackley	Ford	Escort
dnf	Dean Astill	Andrew Hughes	Toyota	Starlet
dnf	Gerald Duyvestyn	Allan Carter	Lancia	Rally