Dylan Thomson and co-driver Richard Fairhall head to the Otago Rally this weekend as favourites to take out the second round of the 2026 Mainland Rally Championship (MRC).
The pairing won the Westland Rally, the opening round of the MRC, just two weeks ago, which was their first outing in the ex-Ben Hunt NZ Championship-winning Skoda Fabia Rally 2.
“It’s a pretty awesome car,” commented Thomson.
“We head to Otago with some confidence as we achieved everything we wanted to at Westland.”
Thomson’s rivals will not be letting up on the pressure with James McIver (Subaru Impreza H6) and Deane Buist (Toyota Trueno) in second and third overall.
“We’ll have the same mindset at Otago as we did at Westland,” said McIver.
“We will keep it clean, do our own thing, find a rhythm and be consistent.
“I did Otago last year in a Mk2 Escort. It was my first taste of the awesome event, so I can understand why it is so popular.”
The MRC round is run over eight Special Stages on the first day of the two-day event. Competitors face a total of 152.39 competitive kms, including the long 45.86km SS5 Tuapeka and the final spectator-friendly SS8 Tarmac Super Stage around the streets of Dunedin.
Seven separate MRC Class titles for both drivers and co-drivers are being contested over the six-round season.
Marike Balzarini/Mauro Balzarini (Toyota Starlet) lead the Class A (2WD 0-1300cc) category while
Josh Silcock/Ben Leech (Ford Fiesta R2) are currently first in Class B (2WD 1301-1600cc).
Deane Buist (Toyota Trueno) leads Andrew Sim (Ford Escort Mk2) in the Class C (2WD 1601cc and over), and in Class D (4WD), Thomson has a four-point advantage over Harri Silcock.
Nigel King (Mitsubishi Lancer) lead Class E (Pre 2000 4WD) ahead of Hayden Shakespeare (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3) while in Class F (2WD Classic) Tim McIver (Ford Escort Mk2) is first followed by Ally Mackay (Ford Escort Mk1) and Mark Parsons (Triumph TR7).
James McIver heads the popular Class H (Subaru H6) from Thomas Paul (Subaru Impreza H6) and James Macdonald (Subaru Impreza H6).
The 2026 Mainland Rally Championship has the support of RDL Performance, Brita Safety Ltd, Palmside NZ Ltd, Christchurch Building and Decorating Ltd, Thomson Rust and Repair Services Ltd, and Rally Drive NZ.
Overall Points after 1/6 rounds:
- Dylan Thomson 30
- James McIver 26
- Deane Buist 23
- Andrew Sim 20
- Tim McIver 18
- Harri Silcock 17
- Thomas Paul 16
- James Macdonald 15
- Josh Silcock 14
- Nic McCallum 13
- Nigel King 12
- Ally Mackay 11
- Hayden Shakespeare 10
- Mark Parsons 9
- Pat Norris 8
- Marike Balzarini 7
- Dave Ollis 2
- William Hawes 2
- Brayden Sim 2
- Josh Keighley 2
Mainland Rally Championship Otago Rally Round 2 Entries (Seed, Driver 1/Driver 2, Car, Class)
- 9, Dylan Thomson/Richard Fairhall, Skoda Fabia, D
- 18, Harri Silcock/Mark Greenwood, Mitsubishi Lance Evo 6, D
- 22, Willy Hawes/Ronnie Penny, Toyota Celica, D
- 28, Josh Silcock/Ben Leech, Ford Fiesta, B
- 2C, Deane Buist/Karl Celeste, Toyota Trueno, C
- 5C, Ally Mackay/Mikko Johnston, Ford Escort MK1
- 25C, Mark Parsons/Blair Bartels,Triumph TR7, F
- 39C, Pat Norris/ Kevin Cooke, Toyota Yaris, B
- 101, Josh Keighley/Neill Woolley, Subaru Impreza H6, H
- 102, Thomas Paul/Bridget Airey, Subaru Impreza WRX RA, H
- 103, James McIver/Matthew Wright, Subaru Impreza, H
- 105, James Macdonald/Tim Macdonald, Subaru Impreza, H
- 111, Hayden Shakespeare/Ryder McGuigan, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3, E
- 112, Nigel King/Brayden King, Mitsubishi Lancer, E
- 115, Tom Milliken/Chris Cunningham, Subaru Impreza H6, H
- 117, Nathan Fraser/Dayle Kirby, Subaru Impreza, E
- 215, Andrew Sim/Glenn Buist, Ford Escort MK2, D
- 218, Dave Ollis/Gemma Thomas, Subaru Impreza WRX STI, D
- 219, Ian Warren/William Ross, Nissan Pulsar, B
- 222, Richard Galley/Claire Buccini, BMW E30, C
- 234, Jak Elliott/Blair Brosnan, Toyota Echo, A
- 239, Simon Ellis/Chris Ellis, Honda Civic, B
- 253, Marite Balzarini/Mauro Balzarini, Toyota Starlet, A
Header Image: Jack Smith
