It’s the sixth and final round of the 2023 Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship as drivers and teams head to the Battery Town Rally Bay of Plenty.
The gravel event is a National/Clubmans Rally, promoted by MotorSport Bay of Plenty and will take
place 14-15 October 2023 in the Whakatane/Western BOP area, based in Tauranga and Whakatane and will also double as the fourth round of the Winmax Brake Pads North Island Rally Series.
National competitors will take in 12 Stages of approximately 135km between Whakatane and Tauranga which will ultimately decide a number of national class titles.
The Category 1 (4WD) premier class has become a two-horse race after the penultimate Daybreaker Rally with six-time champion Hayden Paddon (Hyundai i20N Rally2) battling Raana Horan (Skoda Fabia Rally2). Paddon looks odds-on to take title number seven. With a maximum of 30-points available (25 for the win and five for the Power Stage), Horan needs to out-score Paddon by 15-points. Ben Hunt (Skoda Fabia Rally2) looks odds-on for third place.
A finish will be enough for Dylan Thomson (Ford Fiesta Rally4) to win the Category 2 (NZ 2WD) title. If he DNF’s, Bryn Jones (Ford Fiesta Rally4) is the only possible title rival after he secured a break-through win at Daybreaker. Jones would need to score 23-points (a win or second and power stage points).
With Glenn Alcorn (Ford Escort RS2000) almost guaranteed not to start after his big shunt at Daybreaker, that leaves the Category 3 (Open Class 2WD) title to reigning champion Daniel Haines (Ford Escort MkII), who has an unassailable lead. Dave Strong (Honda Jazz RS) or JP van der Meys (Ford Fiesta ST) could leap-frog Alcorn for second place.
The Category 4 (Historic) class was decided at the Daybreaker Rally with defending champions John Silcock and Donna Elder (Mazda RX7 Group B) confirmed as our 2023 champions and Stewart Reid and Bella Haggarty guaranteed to finish second (Mazda RX7). A finish at Bay of Plenty will be enough for Mike and Helen Cameron (Mitsubishi Lancer) to secure third.
The battle of the master and the apprentice, which has been a theme in Category 5a (Rally Challenge Trophy 4WD) all season will come to an exciting conclusion on the Bay of Plenty gravel. Jeff Ward (Subaru Impreza WRX) holds a slender three-point lead, and currently holds the tie-break advantage, over Zeal Jones (Subaru Impreza WRX).
Assuming the pair battle for first and second at Bay of Plenty, Jones would need to beat Ward on the rally and power stage. If they slip further back, the gap becomes bigger for Jones. If they were second and third, Jones would also need to beat Ward by two positions in the power stage.
Brett Maddren (Toyota Starlet GT) and Jared Parker (Toyota Corolla FX GT) are locked together on top of the Category 5b (Rally Challenge Trophy 2WD)– both on 52-points, although a win for Maddren would give him the tie break advantage over a pair of seconds for Parker should they remain locked together. Obviously, it looms as a straight battle between the pair at Bay of Plenty, with whoever finishes higher claiming the title.
Starting on Saturday with documentation and then recce, there will be a rally show in the afternoon in Whakatane followed by a ceremonial start from the Kakahoroa Carpark. Sunday morning (15th Oct) has a 6am start again from the Kakahoroa Carpark. Then we rally our way back to Mt Maunganui with a finish and prizegiving at the Mount Sports Centre Carpark.
Overall Points (Top 10) – NZ Rally Championship
1/ Hayden Paddon 118
2/ Raana Horan 104
3/ Ben Hunt 88
4/ Josh Marston 60
4/ Ari Pettigrew 60
6/ Dylan Thomson 52
7/ Eugene Creugnet 51
8/ John Silcock 46
9/ Bryn Jones 44
10/ Stewart Reid 34
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