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) 11th 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 |
Comments