Andrew Hawkeswood waited a long time to finally win his national championship, and it came with emotion, but there might have been even more emotion in watching his son Jack follow in his footsteps.
Dad Andrew was on hand at the finish of the last stage in Whangarei to help son Jack celebrate a magnificent title-winning performance in the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship and write the Hawkeswood name into history as the first father-son combination crowned champions.
And there might have been a few more tears in 2017, when he got his elusive title.
“Yeah, I think so,” Jack told BB and Budgie’s Thursday Night Recce. “I think it’s a pretty cool achievement for any father to watch their son become a national champion.
“Hopefully one day we can make it a third-generation thing.”
The strong bond between the pair is evident, but it is a balancing act, especially for Andrew, knowing when to influence and when to leave Jack to himself.
“He’s always been there, especially in the last couple of years when we’ve started to get a bit more serious, and he’s seen that.
“We’ve got Jase in the car now, he’s looking after him a wee bit and [Dad’s] sort of just let the reins slacken off a little bit, if you will.
“Just let us go out and find our own way.
“At the end of the day, or might be a midday service or something, he’ll still be kicking around, and I’ll ask him what he thinks about this or that. What do you think we should do?
“He’s been really, really good this year. He’s just been behind us with whatever decision we’ve made, at any point. He’s just always on our side, always backing us. So yeah, couldn’t really ask for anything better.”
Check out the full interview on BB and Budgie’s Thursday Night Recce, airing tonight on NZRC social channels.
Header Image: Geoff Ridder
