Quentin Palmer was the driver to beat heading into the Newstead Lodge Rally of Waitomo, however, along with co-driver Michael Goudie (Skoda Fabia Rally2), the pairing won all four Special Stages on Sunday to claim the 2025 Hawkeswood Mining North Island Rally Series (NIRS) title with one round to spare. Second in the penultimate NIRS round was Todd Bawden/ Katrina Renshaw (Ford Fiesta MkII R5) who now moves up to fourth overall.
“Been a good day and good fun,” commented Palmer. “The car performed well having solved an engine ‘miss’ overnight.”
It was the first win for co-driver Michael Goudie who said, “It was epic, as I had the best seat in the house. Quentin was having the time of his life. I’m understanding more about the car and getting more confidence. All in all, a very good day.”
Bawden finished second to Palmer in all four stages with Ben Huband (Subaru Impreza WRX) third and William Menzies (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) fourth.
With a maximum 40-points on offer at each event, Palmer now has an unbeatable 43-point lead over Menzies with just the final Battery Town Rally Bay of Plenty round to take place 11 October 2025.
In the Class results, Driver of the Day and winner of the RallyDrive NZ testing voucher, Sam Broadbent (Toyota Corolla) finished 12th overall and first in Class B (2WD 1301-1600cc) and now sits first equal with Marc Milner and Mike Goldsbury.
John Whooley (Honda Civic) was first home in Class C (2WD 1601-2000) and has a 13-point advantage over Adrian Sutton (Nissan Pulsar).
Finishing in eighth, Chris Ramsay (Toyota Corolla APR2) has moved into the lead in Class D (2WD 200cc and over) with a seven-point advantage over Charlie Evans (Mazda RX7) who finished in fifth overall. Previous class leader Jeff Torkington (Toyota MR2) has now slipped to third, one-point behind Evans.
With no Class E Classic 2WD NIRS cars competing in the event, Kyle Percival (Ford Escort Mk2) still holds a 45-point lead over Mike Vincent (Hillman Avenger) and will claim the Class title with one round to spare.
Palmer has won the Class F (4WD 1601-2000) title, now with a 40-point margin over Bawden. Ben Huband (Subaru Impreza) has reduced Menzies lead in Class G (4WD 2001 and over) to 12-points.
The see-sawing battle in Class I (4WD Pre 1996) continues with Chris Burke (Toyota Celica) who was seven-points ahead of Bradley Stewart (Subaru Impreza), now just one-point behind.
While the overall NIRS title has been decided, the final Battery Town Rally Bay of Plenty round will decide the remaining podium places along with the very competitive Class titles on 11 October 2025.
Overall Points after 4/5 rounds (Top 10)
1/ Quentin Palmer 154
2/ William Menzies 111
3/ Ben Huband 84
4/ Todd Bawden 74
5/ Carlin Leong 67
6/ Bradley Stewart 66
7/ Chris Ramsay 61
8/ Dave Strong 55
9/ Charlie Evans 48
10/ Tony Differ 44
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