Andrew Graves of Gore has achieved much success in rallying as both a driver and co-driver, but it is as a driver that he has entered the Barry Robinson Memorial Rally Southland, Round 3 of the NZ Rally Championship (NZRC) on Saturday, 18 July.
Graves has pledged to do the rally in memory of one of his former co-drivers, Jared Leebody, who passed away recently. Graves and Leebody had much success together until 2018, when Andrew’s son, Hayden, stepped into the co-driver seat alongside his father.
Driving an older car than many of their rivals, a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 3, Graves and Leebody, and more recently the father and son combination have won many local events – the first Barry Robinson Memorial Wyndham Rally, Catlins, Dusky Forest, Rankleburn and Lawrence among them.
Graves is also well known as a top co-driver. Since 2016, he has been a regular co-driver for Cantabrian Josh Marston in the NZRC. Marston did not compete in 2024, so Graves took on the NZRC himself, concentrating on the Rally Challenge Class, taking the driver title with Hayden alongside him, and taking the national co-driver title.
Marston was back for 2025, so Andrew returned to co-drive with him while Hayden jumped on board with Canterbury driver Jack Stokes. That season ended with Andrew fourth in the NZRC co-driver title race and Hayden fifth.
Marston has his car up for sale at the moment, so is not competing this season, allowing Andrew to help the Hawkeswood family with their efforts while Hayden has continued alongside Stokes, that duo currently leading the NZRC points.
Amy Hudson of Christchurch has come on board to co-drive for Andrew at Southland.
“She has stepped up to the challenge,” says Graves.
“I am looking forward to the event. I want to bring the car home in one piece and see how I go against the big boys of the NZRC.”
As a former winner of the Wyndham Rally, Graves knows the first part of the rally well. “The Wyndham roads are awesome,” he says. Of the other roads, many of which were previously used years ago for Rally Southland, he says, “it has been a long time since I have been in Dunsdale. It will be interesting.”
Andrew’s driving of late has been restricted to the Popotunoa Rallysprint, in which he finished fourth, plus a test day in a GR Toyota Yaris Rally Cup car as part of a testing programme prior to the introduction of a class for the cars next season.
As someone who has competed on both sides of the car, Andrew has called rally safety notes to drivers but hasn’t used them a lot as a driver himself; his NZRC Rally Challenge title season was an exception.
“A lot of my co-drivers were not keen on notes,” he says.
“We won the ‘blind’ (no notes) trophy at Otago several times.”
Graves is a fan of notes, though.
“You know exactly what is coming up; it is an incredible advantage. Without notes, it’s seat of the pants, it’s exciting until it’s not! You can be so committed with notes, you may think you know what is coming, but then you are told, and you think – that was lucky!”
As a member of the Eastern Southland Car Club, which is organising only their second National Championship Rally, Graves says, “I am excited, one hundred per cent. It is great to see the club stepping up. It will be great to be a part of it, and I hope to be there at the end.”
All the cars and drivers in the Barry Robinson Memorial Rally Southland will be at Invercargill Central from 4pm on Friday, 17 July, where there will be an opportunity to get autographs and see the cars up close before the Ceremonial Start at 6pm.
The following day, the cars leave Wyndham at 8.30 am before tackling seven high-speed Special Stages before the event concludes at the Ascot Park Hotel in Invercargill at 3.45pm.
Header Image: Graeme Fraser
