This Saturday’s Rally Bay of Plenty plays host to the final round of the 2025 North Island Rally Series (NIRS), which will see a number of titles decided by the end of the day.
Heading into the event, it will be a fight for the remaining podium places with Quentin Palmer (Skoda Fabia Evo2) already having an unbeatable 43-point lead over William Menzies (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6).
Menzies will need to protect his second place from third-place Ben Huband (Subaru Impreza) while Todd Bawden (Ford Fiesta MkII R5) in fourth has a mathematical chance of finishing runner-up.
With 40 points available for the Overall Co-Drivers title, there are seven on the leaderboard with a mathematical chance of taking the trophy.
Doug Dolan is just three points ahead of Corinne Watson, followed by Dayna Kiekebosch, Nathan Roa, Oliver Drake, Katrina Renshaw and Rob Scott.
The event, which also doubles as round 5 of the New Zealand Rally Championship, will see competitors compete over 10 Special Stages of approximately 165km between Tauranga and Kawerau, predominantly on public and forestry gravel roads in the Whakatane, Matahina Forest and Western Bay areas of the Bay of Plenty, with Service Parks at Kawerau and Rangiuru.
The Rally Bay of Plenty gets underway with a ceremonial start on Friday evening at Mitre 10 Mega in downtown Tauranga before a full day’s action and returning to finish at Classic Flyers in Mt. Maunganui at 5.00pm.
In the fight for the Class B (2WD 1301-1600cc) title, three drivers sit equal in first place with Sam Broadbent (Toyota Corolla), Marc Milner (Toyota Starlet) and Mike Goldsbury all on 20 points.
Equally, three co-drivers, Mike Goldsbury, Paul Ayres and Steven Uffindell, also sit on 20 points each. He who wins will take the title.
John Whooley (Honda Civic) leads Class C (2WD 1601-2000) and has a 13-point advantage over Adrian Sutton (Nissan Pulsar). Stephen Dill has wrapped up the Co-drivers Class title, 28 points clear of Kim Raggett.
Chris Ramsay (Toyota Corolla APR2) has the lead in Class D (2WD 200cc and over) with a seven-point advantage over Charlie Evans (Mazda RX7), but it may be previous class leader Jeff Torkington (Toyota MR2), just one point behind Evans, who could still win the Class. Co-drivers Dave Neill and Rob Scott are equal on 35 points.
In Class E (Classic 2WD), Kyle Percival (Ford Escort Mk2) has an unbeatable 45-point lead over Mike Vincent (Hillman Avenger) and Nick Flanagan (Peugeot 205).
Even though he has the Class title won already, he will still be competing in Saturday’s rally. Percival’s co-driver, Findlay Tyack, has also wrapped up the class title.
Palmer has won the Class F (4WD 1601-2000) title with a 40-point margin over Bawden, but with 2023 & 2024 NIRS Champion Phil Campbell (Ford Fiesta) not competing, third place could go to New Caledonia’s Eugene Creunet (Mitsubishi Mirage).
Dayna Kiekebosch has a small five-point margin over Katrina Renshaw for the co-driver’s Class title.
Ben Huband (Subaru Impreza) has reduced Menzies’ lead in Class G (4WD 2001 and over) to 12 points while co-drivers Corinne Watson and Doug Dolan are equal on 55 points.
It has been a season-long see-sawing battle in Class I (4WD Pre 1996). Bradley Stewart (Subaru Impreza) has a one-point lead over Chris Burke (Toyota Celica), who has only entered the shorter Clubmans part of the Rally.
Stewart’s co-driver, Oliver Drake, is also one point clear of Stephen Taylor and likely to take the title.
It’s an early start on Saturday morning with the first Car departing 05:45am from the Classic Flyers Carpark, Aerodrome Rd, Mt Maunganui, and arriving back at approximately 17:05pm.
The 2026 North Island Rally Series acknowledges and thanks the following for their support: Hawkeswood Mining, Semog, Pure Quality Construction, Rallydrive NZ, Paddon Racing Group, ISignit and Online Contractors.
Header Image: Geoff Ridder
