Kiwi rally driver Hayden Paddon and co-driver John Kennard have made it a flying start-to-finish and 10th-ever win of Rally Otago, the first round of the 2023 New Zealand Rally Championship.
The pair dominated the Otago Rally, which ran 1 and 2 April, piloting their Hyundai i20 N Rally2 car to stage wins on every one of the 14 special stages (one of the 15 scheduled stages was cancelled due to a crash) and finishing more than four minutes ahead of their closest rival after 238km of competition.
Along the way, they added to their collection of Rally Otago stage records, including a ripper time of seven minutes, 12.8 seconds on the iconic Otago rally stage, 15.05km Kuri Bush, beating their own record of seven minutes, 13.3 seconds set last year in the Hyundai i20 N AP4 car. They hit top speeds of 125km/h on the rolling, cambered gravel road near Taieri Mouth.
Paddon was delighted with the win. “It’s been a really good weekend for the whole Hyundai New Zealand Rally/PRG team. To come away with this win and to make it ten wins here in Otago is awesome for us all. There’s certainly some pressure when you’re trying to achieve a personal goal like that.”
He was also pleased with the Rally 2 car’s first run at the 2023 edition of Rally Otago. “The car performed well and the team did an amazing job in its preparation and running over the two days. We ticked all the boxes.
“The Rally 2 car is very different to what we’re used to in these conditions, so there’s been a bit of adapting and, even with my driving style, there’s an element of trying to adjust that to the car as well. We’ve learned a lot about the car over the weekend which I’m sure will help us for the rest of the season and there’s definitely still more to come.”
Paddon also drives a Hyundai i20 N Rally 2 car in the 2023 FIA European Rally Championship, where it’s run by Italian team BRC in partnership with his PRG personnel.
“The more seat time and competitive driving we get in this car, more information we’re gathering so of course we’ll keep improving and keep developing.”
The Hyundai New Zealand Rally/PRG crew prepared and ran five cars at 2023 Rally Otago including one for team member Ari Pettigrew and a new car for Dunedin local and long-time NZRC top-runner Emma Gilmour. Paddon is proud of the whole team for their efforts over the busy weekend event.
“It’s been a massively busy rally as well the build-up to the rally. Every single person has done an incredible job. I’m very proud of everyone involved and the dedication shown. It makes my job so much easier and to get results like this with Ari in second and Emma having a good run in the top five is a huge credit to the whole team.”
Ben Hunt was third in the Skoda New Zealand Fabia Rally 2 car and closed the gap on Pettigrew to 22 seconds on Sunday despite feeling under the weather.
Raana Horan (Generator Rental Services Skoda Fabia Rally 2) held off the charging Emma Gilmour (Vantage Citroen C3) on Sunday to edge her for fourth place.
Josh Marston (RDL Holden Barina) and Robbie Stokes (Team Hutchison Ford Fiesta AP4) finish sixth and seventh respectively.
Jackson Clendon (Ford Fiesta Rally 4) enjoyed a brilliant return to the championship to be first overall 2WD car and claim a dominant victory in the highly-competitive NZRC 2WD class.
Bryn Jones completed a steady drive for second in his Ford Fiesta while Dylan Thomson recovered from a crash early on the second leg to secure the final podium spot in his older model Ford Fiesta.
John Silcock (Mazda RX7) finished comfortably as the winner of the Historic 2WD class while Australian Stewart Reid finished in second place in his Mazda RX7.
Defending champion Dan Haines (Ford Escort) picked up where he left off last year by winning the Open 2WD class, pulling away from Australian-based Irishman Glenn Alcorn (Ford Escort) on Sunday.
Header Image: Hayden Paddon Facebook | Words: Supplied
