Jack Hawkeswood will attempt to slay the two-headed monster that is the Stokes brothers at this weekend’s second round of the New Zealand Rally Championship.
The Stokes brothers (Robbie and Jack) will start as hot favourites in their identical Stokes Motorsport Skoda Fabia Rally 2 cars on roads they grew up on.
But Hawkeswood (Force Motorsport Toyota Yaris Rally 2) can take comfort from the fact he had arguably more speed than his two title rivals at Otago and could well have been leading the championship if it weren’t for a time penalty.
Hawkeswood lies second in that battle to Jack Stokes, who claimed a maiden victory at Otago.
Defending Canterbury Rally champion Robbie Stokes has it all to play for, having picked up just the eight points at the season opener.
Quentin Palmer (Skoda Fabia Rally 2) secured a podium finish at Otago and will look to do something similar on unfamiliar roads, playing himself into the championship fight in the process.
The Vanuatuan duo of Pierre-Henri Brunet (Skoda Fabia Rally 2) and Nelson Law (Toyota Yaris AP4) will battle each other and pick up any points the leading contenders leave on the table.
Caleb Macdonald (Mitsubishi EVO 8) and Grant Blackberry (Mitsubishi EVO 10) will continue their Rally Challenge 4WD battle while also pushing the cat 1 cars.
Canterbury local Harri Silcock (Mitsubishi EVO 6) will battle the Subaru H6 contingent of Thomas Paul, Josh Keighley, Kevin Laird and Terri Taylor, while Wily Hawes will throw a cat among the pigeons in his Toyota Celica.
The H6 battle also comprises the Group A Challenge battle.
Ari Pettigrew (Porsche 911) turned heads with a dominant performance at Otago in 2WD and will be favoured to dominate the Open 2WD class that also includes Tim Mackersy (Ford Fiesta) and Dave Strong (Honda Jazz).
Phil Macquarie (Ford Escort) starts as favourite in the Historic 2WD class but will get pushed by the likes of Pat Norris (Toyota Corolla) and Mike Cameron (Mitsubishi Lancer).
The highly competitive Rally Challenge 2WD class will see Rory Lawn (Toyota Starlet), Darren Galbraith (Ford Fiesta), Ian Warren (Suzuki Swift) and Josh Silcock (Ford Fiesta) battling it out. The addition of defending champ Ian Warren and the experienced Galbraith for this round will spice up that battle.
Deane Buist will be the overwhelming favourite in the Classic class in his Ford Escort on roads he knows very well. He will also have Pettigrew in his sights in the overall 2WD scrap.
Derek Ayson (Opel Manta) and Ben Harding (Mazda RX7) renew their rivalry from Otago, while Roger McKay will look to get into the battle as well in his Ford Escort.
Rally Canterbury begins with a ceremonial opening at Lone Star Manchester St in Christchurch City on Saturday night, followed by a day of stages north of the city on Sunday.
Header Image: Geoff Ridder
