Josh Marston and Andrew Graves have finished the second round of the 2025 Mainland Rally Championship (MRC) on top of the podium after completing eight Special Stages of the South Canterbury Rally on Saturday.
Marston (Holden Barina AP4) beat home Round 1 winner, Robbie Stokes/Shane Reynolds (Skoda Fabia Rally 2 Evo), with Caleb MacDonald/Larisa Biggar (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) in third.
“It’s been a great day,” said Marston.
“The car was fantastic; the team did a great job, and ‘Duggie’ (Andrew Graves) did a great job. At one stage, we hit a big rock that pushed the sump right in, which the boys were able to sort out at service.
“Confidence and jelling with Duggie in the car have been the key to being fast. The roads down here are really fast, so you must be on it, and we were able to set a good pace from the start and kept going.”
The rally also doubled as the second round of the New Zealand Rally Championship, which saw Marston finish second to Ben Hunt (Skoda Rally2 Evo) and Stokes in third.
The overall winner of the event was Hayden Paddon/Jared Hudson (Hyundai i20N AP4), competing in the Allcomers category.
Marston was the fastest MRC car through the opening Kakahu Forest Special Stage, which proved to be a decisive win. It put nearly a minute on Stokes, a lead he defended throughout the day.
Three other Special Stage wins for Marston kept Stokes at bay, who also won a total of four stages.
“It hasn’t been ideal,” said Stokes.
“There’s some issue that we don’t quite know yet. The gears aren’t working properly. We’ll take the third and some good points, although it’s not really how we want to get on the podium.”
The expected battle between the Stokes brothers didn’t come to fruition. Jack Stokes/Hayden Graves (Ford Fiesta AP4) battled an overheating issue right from the opening stage, which resulted in their retirement from the event.
Seven separate Class battles also took place over the day. Josh Silcock/Ben Leech (Toyota Starlet) continue to lead Class A (2wd 0-1300cc), beating home Mike Matheson/Gordon Legge (Toyota Vitz).
Class B (2WD 1601cc and over) leaders Thomas Paul/Bridget Airey (Honda Civic) came in second to Ian Warren/Brody Cattermole (Nissan Pulsar), while Marcus van Klink/Dave Neill (Mazda RX8) beat home Deane Buist in Class C (2WD 1601cc and over).
Buist continues to lead Richard Gailey (BMW 320i) with van Klink in third, having not competed in the opening round.
Robbie Stokes continues to hold the overall MRC lead and has a slim two-point lead in Class D (4WD) over Marston. Caleb MacDonald is also in contention, holding third.
Stephen Gill (Ford Escort Mk2) has extended his lead in Class F (Classic 2WD) to ten points over Paul Cross (Toyota Corolla AE86).
With Class H6 leaders Tim Smith/Ben Trevelyan (Subaru Impreza) not entered this round, Kevin Laird took the opportunity to take over the lead now with a 16-point advantage.
The next round of the 2025 Mainland Rally Championship is the Rally of Canterbury, which will be held in the North Canterbury region on Sunday, 1 June 2025.
Overall Points (Top 15) after 2/6 rounds
| Position | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Robbie Stokes | 56 |
| 2 | Josh Marston | 53 |
| 3 | Caleb MacDonald | 43 |
| 4 | Deane Buist | 36 |
| 5 | Brian Green | 30 |
| 6= | Jack Stokes | 28 |
| 6= | Kevin Laird | 28 |
| 8 | Stephen Gill | 27 |
| 9 | Thomas Paul | 25 |
| 10= | Marcus van Klink | 20 |
| 10= | Richard Galley | 20 |
| 12 | Tim Smith | 17 |
| 13= | Ben Huband | 16 |
| 13= | Ian Warren | 16 |
| 15 | Harri Silcock | 15 |
South Canterbury Rally, MRC Round 2 Results
| Position | Driver 1 | Driver 2 | Car | Class | Class Position |
| 1 | Josh Marston | Andrew Graves | Holden Barina AP4 | D | 1 |
| 2 | Robbie Stokes | Shane Reynolds | Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo | D | 2 |
| 3 | Caleb MacDonald | Larisa Biggar | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 | D | 3 |
| 4 | Marcus van Klink | Dave Neill | Mazda RX8 | C | 1 |
| 5 | Deane Buist | Karl Celeste | Ford Escort RS1800 | C | 2 |
| 6 | Kevin Laird | Aled Jones | Subaru Impreza H6 | H | 1 |
| 7 | Ben Huband | Corinne Watson | Subaru Magnum H6 | H | 2 |
| 8 | Brian Green | Brianna Little | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 | D | 4 |
| 9 | Andrew Sim | Caleb Sim | Ford Escort Mk2 | C | 3 |
| 10 | Stephen Gill | Grant Molloy | Ford Escort Mk2 | F | 1 |
| 11 | Ian Warren | Brody Cattermole | Nissan Pulsar | B | 1 |
| 12 | Andy Martin | Matt Hayward | Ford Escort RS1800 | F | 2 |
| 13 | Richard Galley | Claire Buccini | BMW 320i | C | 4 |
| 14 | Thomas Paul | Bridget Airey | Honda Civic | B | 2 |
| 15 | Rory Lawn | Jack Norris | Toyota Starlet | B | 3 |
| 16 | Harri Silcock | Mark Greenwood | Toyota Starlet | B | 4 |
| 17 | Paul Cross | Ben Trevelyan | Toyota Corolla | F | 3 |
| 18 | Josh Silcock | Ben Leech | Toyota Starlet | A | 1 |
| 19 | Mike Matheson | Gordon Legge | Toyota Vitz | A | 2 |
| 20 | Adrian Jones | Madara Ansica | Toyota Corolla | B | 5 |
| 21 | Pat Norris | Kevin Cooke | Toyota Corolla | F | 4 |
| 22 | Kevin Brockie | Darryl McManus | Toyota Vitz | A | 3 |
| DNF | Jack Stokes | Hayden Graves | Ford Fiesta AP4 | D | – |
2025 Mainland Rally Championship Calendar
| Round | Date | Rally | Club |
| 1 | 5th April 2025 | Otago Rally | OSCC |
| 2 | 10th May 2025 | South Canterbury Rally | SCCC |
| 3 | 1st June 2025 | Canterbury Rally | Autosport |
| 4 | 2nd August 2025 | Wyndham Rally | ESSC |
| 5 | 30th August 2025 | Timaru Tarmac Rally | TBC |
| 6 | 27th September 2025 | Hanmer Rally | Autosport |
Header Image: Euan Cameron
