Two-days of competitive rallying on fast flowing Otago roads over the weekend in ideal conditions has provided a bench-mark result and an indication of how quick competitors are likely to be this season. So, is the overall result from the 2023 Otago Rally a true indication of how our top Kiwi drivers rank in the New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC)?
First home was, of course, Hayden Paddon ahead of Ari Pettigrew, Ben Hunt, Raana Horan and Emma Gilmour. There is a good argument that these five are currently the fastest we have and in that order.
Over the 14 competitive stages, from Special Stage 3 on, these five remained pretty much in that order for the rest of the rally.
We always knew that Ari Pettigrew was a quick youngster once he made a real splash in his 2WD BMW 318i at the 2016 Catlins Rally, finishing fourth overall in less than ideal conditions. There was a bit if a time lapse between that season and his supporters being able to get him into something with the potential to be very competitive at the top of the field.
Once he took the reins of his Holden Barina AP4, at the beginning of the 2022, it was a matter of spending the season dialling himself into a top 4WD and he went on to finish third overall behind Ben Hunt. His second placing over the weekend is a true indication of how quick he is in arguably a much older car than those around him.
In 2022 Hunt also moved into a new car, piloting a factory-built Skoda Fabia R5 and was immediately quick finishing ahead of Pettigrew and runner-up to Paddon. We know that Hunt is quick having already won the NZRC in a Subaru both in 2015 (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) and 2019 (Subaru WRX STi).
Last season he was fast while still learning the merits and potential of a factory developed and built rally car. He has buckets of experience and knows that you don’t need to be the fastest to beat your rivals when conditions start getting difficult.
Raana Horan initially kept using his older Skoda Fabia R5 while transitioning into a brand new Skoda Fabia R5 heading towards the WRC Rally New Zealand round in September 2022, finishing fifth overall in the NZRC.
While he comes from an off-road background, Horan has made the transition to rallying look easy. He is fast and as he gains even more experience on gravel, he will just get better.
Emma Gilmour’s fifth is a really good indication of where she is at. She, and her team, have made two strategically important decisions going forward. First is to ditch the previously campaigned Suzuki Swift AP4 for a proven factory-built Citroen C3 R5, albeit second-hand. Second, the decision to run under Paddon Rally Sport could well see her consistently fighting for podiums.
Very rarely do Paddon Rally Sport run cars ever break-down, such is their ability to maintain their and their customers machinery. Considering the run of ill-luck Gilmour had with her Suzuki for many seasons, this has to be a bonus.
Once she gets used to the Citroen and is able to release its potential, she can only move up in he top-five ranking. Let’s not forget that McLaren team principal, Zak Brown, chose her to represent the brand competing in the Extreme E Series.
Of the others, keep an eye out for Josh Marston in his highly developed Holden Barina AP4. He finished sixth overall in Otago and is easily capable of a top five result.
Robbie Stokes (Ford Fiesta AP4) may be slightly on the back-foot early in the season. Previously he’s shown how quick he is but reliability has let him down. He now appears mindful, that first you have to finish and he did just that with a seventh overall. New co-driver Dave Neill is part of a whole revamp heading into 2023 which is looking quite positive.
We won’t say impossible, but it will be very difficult (if not impossible) for the competition to knock Hayden Paddon off the top step. What has been made possible is the level of competition has moved up a notch each year and those following in his dust have raised their game. As they say, ‘It’s tight at the top’ and the best thing is, we get to watch.
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