Championship protagonist Robbie Stokes has set up a thrilling finish to the New Zealand Rally Championship by winning the Rally Bay of Plenty on Saturday.
Stokes (Stokes Motorsport Skoda Fabia Rally 2) collected his second career NZRC round win by holding off three-time national champion and defending champ Ben Hunt (Skoda New Zealand Fabia Rally 2) by just 1.4 seconds in a gripping battle between the pair.
A spin by Hunt in stage three – the first of four forestry stages – proved the difference as he dropped almost 19 seconds to his Canterbury rival.
Hunt then fought back with an impressive afternoon charge but came up just short in his bid to win a fourth event on the 2025 calendar.
He will take a nine-point lead into the final round of the Championship at Whangarei next month.
Jack Stokes came home third in his Ford Fiesta AP4 with Jack Hawkeswood (Force Motorsport GR Yaris) and Josh Marston (RDL Holden Barina AP4) fifth.
Bryn Jones (Ford Fiesta Rally 4) won the NZRC 2WD class for the fifth straight time in 2025 to take a commanding lead over Tim Mackersy.
Dave Strong bounced back from a couple of rough outings to secure maximum points in the Open 2WD class.
Deane Buist’s masterclass in the Historic 2WD class continued as he produced another sublime performance to be sixth overall and first in class in the Ford Escort.
The Rally Challenge was a war of attrition as championship leader Caleb Macdonald crashed heavily earlier in the day in his Mitsubishi EVO 6. He will likely need another car to win the title at Whangarei.
Julien Lenglet crashed out on the penultimate stage while newcomer Will Menzies went off the road midway through the afternoon.
Ben Huband (Subaru Impreza) survived the drama of the Rally Challenge 4WD class to come out on top, while Josh Keighley (Subaru H6) claimed a terrific second place, and local driver Gavin Feast nursed his Subaru WRX home for third.
Keighley beat Kevin Laird (Subaru H6) at home in the Group A battle.
Header Image: Jessica Barnes/Blissful Photography
