Rising rally star Jack Hawkeswood made history in more ways than one over the weekend after claiming his first NZ Rally Championship, with the final round in the Bay of Plenty still to run.
Jack took a memorable, comprehensive victory at the Rally of Whangarei on Sunday in his GR Yaris Rally 2 car, finishing 56.8 seconds ahead of Robbie Stokes in his Rally 2 Skoda.
After father Andrew’s championship win in 2017, Jack’s title success marked the Hawkeswoods as the only father and son to have both secured NZ’s premier rallying title. It was also the second NZ Rally Championship success for GR Yaris Rally 2 co-driver Jason Farmer.
On a highly significant day for NZ rallying, it marked the first time Toyota has tasted title success as a brand in the NZ championship since it began almost 50 years ago in 1977. Toyota has won five NZRC rounds in total, with Jack winning four. He first won the Otago Rally in 2024 and has won three rounds this season.
Prior to Hawkeswood’s winning run, the last New Zealand Rally Championship round win by a Toyota was Paul Adams in a Toyota Corolla back in 1984.
Jack has campaigned a GR Yaris Rally2 this season, a car which is manufactured and assembled by the Toyota GAZOO World Rally Team (TGR-WRT) at their workshop in Jyvaskyla, Finland. This is the first, and only, GR Yaris Rally2 campaigned in New Zealand.
Hawkeswood debuted the car 12 months ago at the Rally of Whangarei. For Jack, Sunday’s success is a culmination of years of hard work.
“I’ve been around rallying and driving for pretty much as long as I can remember, and I’ve been competing in rallies for about nine years now,” he said.
“Winning the New Zealand Rally Championship has always been something I wanted to achieve, especially with Dad winning it in 2017, but I wouldn’t say it was something we came into this year completely focused on from day one.
“We just wanted to be competitive, win rallies and put together a consistent season. As the year went on and we found ourselves in a strong position, the championship definitely became the focus. To get it wrapped up at Whangārei with a round still to go is pretty special.
“Toyota has been a huge part of it. The GR Yaris Rally2 has given us a really competitive package and the confidence to push at every event. The car has been awesome to drive and it’s allowed Jase and I to concentrate on doing our job and getting the most out of it.
“To win the championship in a Toyota is pretty special, and to make it the first time Toyota has won the New Zealand Rally Championship makes it even cooler. We’ve still got one more job to do at the final round at the end of October, and that’s to try and wrap up the Manufacturers’ Championship for Toyota as well. That would be a pretty awesome way to finish off the year.”
GAZOO Racing campaigns at the top level of the sport in the World Rally Championship with a GR Yaris Rally1 car, and regionally across the globe with the GR Yaris Rally2.
Hawkeswood’s championship title is timely as Toyota through its GAZOO Racing brand expands its grassroots rally programmes. Globally, several countries are now running a production-based version of the GR Yaris in rallying, such as the Morizo Challenge Cup in Japan and Spain’s Toyota Gazoo Racing Iberian Cup.
Closer to home, GAZOO Racing New Zealand has endorsed the GR Yaris Rally Cup New Zealand, a new, production-based rally championship category that will join the New Zealand Rally Championship in 2027.
GAZOO Racing NZ Motorsport Manager Nicolas Caillol says an exciting future lies ahead. “It’s great to see the first title success for the GR Yaris Rally2 in New Zealand particularly alongside Jack securing the driver’s championship and putting his name out there as a real prospect for a place in international rallying.
“It’s a satisfying way to end the year ahead of the launch of the GR Yaris Rally Cup in the 2027 championship. That will showcase the most promising rally drivers of the future and perhaps provide the career boost for more Kiwis to star on rallying’s domestic and world stages.”
Header Image: Hutchison Creative
