Jackson Clendon will make a long-awaited return to the New Zealand Rally Championship at Rally Hawke’s Bay this weekend.
Clendon shot to prominence as one of several talented young drivers competing in Ford Fiesta Rally 4 cars a few years ago.
After missing the past couple of seasons, the Wairarapa-based Clendon will return for his local event.
“It’s an incredible feeling to be back in the NZRC,” Clendon said.
“I feel like I left with some unfinished business in 2023, so I’m extremely excited to be back and chasing the dream again.
“Since I stopped competing, everything in my life has been centred around getting back to rallying. I made a big career change and now work as a mortgage adviser in my mum’s and my family’s business, Home Loans Wairarapa, and I’ve just launched my own finance brokerage, Jacko Finance.
“I also have taken my fitness pretty seriously. All this while still being very motorsport mad, so I still followed everything.
“But still my “why” for everything in the past three years away was to be able to come back rallying.”
Clendon blew the cobwebs out with a run in the North Island Rally Series round at Taumarunui recently and immediately looked to be up to speed.
“I come away from Taumarunui feeling great in the car,” he said. “It was surprising how quickly everything came back, but everything sort of just clicked.
“At some points the driving felt better than ever, which was a surprise, so heading to Hawke’s Bay feeling great.”
Clendon has opted to enter the NZRC 2WD class, although there won’t be much competition. He considered entering the Open 2WD class but decided not to complicate the championship with competitors who have been battling each other all season.
“The plan for Hawke’s Bay is to just do our own thing and finish,” Clendon explained. “This will be my first time on the MRFs, so learning how they operate will be something to keep in mind.
“Hopefully building speed throughout the day, but just being out having fun on those classic Hawke’s Bay stages will be enough in my first NZRC event back.”
And it won’t be the only time we see Clendon competition this year, with at least one more round locked in.
“Whangarei is a maybe at this stage, but I’ll assess after Hawke’s Bay and see what the budget is saying. But will definitely be at Bay of Plenty at the end of the year.
“Bay of Plenty in 2020 was my first ever rally, so it would be awesome to go back in the Rally 4.”
Header Image: Geoff Ridder
