Organisers of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship are proud to announce the 2025 calendar that includes the return of two events to the championship for the first time post-pandemic.  

The season will, as has become traditional, kick off with the two-day Otago Rally on April 4-6, based in Dunedin.

The action will then resume at the South Canterbury Rally on May 10, based in Timaru, before a return to the Canterbury Rally in Christchurch on June 1.  

Following a mid-season break, teams will move to the North Island with another returning event, Rally Coromandel, to be held on August 23 from the seaside town of Whitianga.

The series then moves to the Tauranga-based Rally Bay of Plenty on October 11, before the second two-day round of the season, International Rally of Whangarei, to round out the season on November 7-9.  

“It’s really exciting to be able to release the calendar as we work into the 2025 season,” said NZRC Championship co-ordinator Blair Bartels.  

“To be able to welcome a couple of exciting events in Canterbury Rally and Rally Coromandel back onto the calendar alongside fantastic events like Otago Rally, South Canterbury Rally, Rally Bay of Plenty and the International Rally of Whangarei is very pleasing.  

“Book ending the championship with a pair of two-day events amongst four one-day events keeps things exciting right to the final round, while splitting the events into South and North Island with a mid-season break was very well received amongst the teams this season and offers numerous benefits.  

“Of course, we’re blessed to have so many rallies of a high calibre in this country and while keeping to a six-round calendar, unfortunately they can’t all fit in. On that note, we’d like to thank the organisers of the Daybreaker Rally and Southern Lights Rally for their efforts across the last two seasons, particularly stepping up at short notice to pull together the Daybreaker Rally in 2023.”  

“We’re pleased to see another New Zealand Rally Championship set for 2025,” said MotorSport New Zealand president Deborah Day.  

“New Zealand is lucky to have the best rallying roads in the world, and with Rally Canterbury and Rally Coromandel returning to the championship calendar we get to see more of those roads contested at our highest level.”    

Championship articles are in their final stages of preparation and will be released in due course.     

2025 Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship Calendar:

Rd 1: Otago Rally Friday April 4- Sunday April 6

Rd 2: South Canterbury Rally Saturday May 10

Rd 3: Canterbury Rally Sunday June 1

Rd 4: Rally Coromandel  Saturday August 23

Rd 5: Rally Bay of Plenty Saturday October 11

Rd 6: International Rally of Whangarei Friday November 7- Sunday November 9

New Zealand's Central Machine Hire Otago Rally will again be a part of the World Series of TER when it runs again in early April 2025. A series aimed at iconic events in iconic locations, the TER Series is an evolution of the European Series.

This will be the second time that the Central Machine Hire Otago Rally has been included as a round.

For the Otago Rally in particular, the TER series provides global TV coverage focussing not only on the competition, but on the region's tourism, landscape and, of course, the stunning rally roads that Dunedin and its surrounds offer.

"We are delighted to be part of the TER Series again. This is a fantastic opportunity to promote Dunedin, New Zealand and NZ rallying to the world," event promotions manager, Roger Oakley, said.

"We very much enjoyed working with the TER team in 2023, and love their enthusiasm to promote the sport."

Each event in the TER Series will receive significant television coverage in the form of a 25-minute highlights package, which is to be beamed around the world with specific broadcast arrangements in virtually every country. 

A European-based TV crew will be in Dunedin for the event and will showcase all the region has to offer.

"The Otago Rally has an international reputation, it is based in our city and travels around all our surrounding landscapes.

"Being part of the TER Series gives a perfect platform to promote our City and lifestyle to the world as well as providing a great event for our locals to attend and be part of," Dunedin City Destination Manager, Sian Sutton, said.

TER organisers are also thrilled that the series will again visit New Zealand's South Island.

"We are excited to see the TER series return to Otago and New Zealand," TER series organiser, Luca Grilli, said.

"Rallying is very strong in New Zealand, they have amazing roads and scenery. It is unlike other places in the world, a great destination for the sport and the tourist."

The 2025 Central Machine Hire Otago Rally will begin with the popular ceremonial start in Dunedin's Octagon on Friday, April 4, before the rally action itself takes place on the following two days over 15 stages and 280 competitive kilometres.

Competitors can signal their intention to complete by going to https://otagorally.com/competitors/intention-to-enter/

The rally is grateful for the support of Dunedin City Council Premier Event funding.   

The 2025 Central Machine Hire Otago Rally is already proving popular, with over 65 intentions to enter received so far. There have already been nine received from Australia, and seven from other countries including the UK and Japan.

Rally organisers are expecting to have a full field of over 100 entries for the April 5 and 6 event, with the rally’s “star driver” yet to be announced.

Welsh driver, Meirion Evans, has already confirmed his entry, as has Japan’s Fuyuhiko Takahasi in the Pacific Cup section of the rally.

Australians to show early interest include Richie Dalton in a Ford Escort RS1800, and Darryn Snooks in a Datsun Stanza.

Next’s year’s Central Machine Hire Otago Rally route is just about finalised and will offer competitors 280 kilometres over 15 special stages, finishing with the famed Kuri Bush stage.

The intention to enter is non-binding, so competitors are encouraged to get their name on the list at: https://otagorally.com/competitors/intention-to-enter/

Supplementary Regulations will be available soon for what promises to again be a bumper edition of the event.

The Central Machine Hire Otago Rally is grateful to the Dunedin City Council for Premier Event funding.

Rising Kiwi rally star Zeal Jones is aiming to showcase his skills in what could be a careerdefining few days in harsh winter conditions in Europe. The final shoot-out in the 2024 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program got underway in Finland and the prize will be a seat as a Generation 4 driver with the reigning World Rally Team Champions.

Zeal has fought his way through two rounds of competition in Japan to make the final stages and his skills in and out of the rally car are going to be assessed by a world class team that includes four-time WRC runner-up Mikko Hirvonen, former WRC co-driver Jouni Ampuja and former WRC driver Juho Hanninen as well as a significant number of the TOYOTA GAZOO World Rally Team.

He has left no stone unturned in his final preparation since securing a spot in the final shootout just a few weeks ago.

“My preparation has been very thorough,” he said. “I have tried dialling some research-based training into my program from potential scenarios we may be put into.

“General fitness and aerobic activity have still been at the forefront of my training with a mix of simulator sessions. However, I have also incorporated mental skills training to ensure I have the right mindset to attack this challenge and go over prepared as an all-around driver.

“Training with limited information ensures we go over fresh, and they test our natural ability as much as possible.

“In Finland, we know we will be tested physically, mentally and while driving on the ice and snow across a six day program, evaluating our pros and cons to determine the final driver to be selected to be part of the TGR WRC Challenge Program Generation 4.

“Winter conditions are a completely new experience for me. However, with my preparation, I have reached out to several experienced people in this field to give me a heads up, so I will at least go into it feeling a little less like a rookie.”

The TGR WRC Challenge Program was established in 2015 ahead of Toyota’s return to the top level of the WRC to identify and nurture talented young Japanese rally drivers.

Zeal’s mother is Japanese making him eligible to compete.

He is the youngest driver ever to become the NZRC Rally Challenge Champion, and is the 2024 New Zealand Junior Rally Champion.

The goal for the selected drivers is comprehensive growth as an athlete and the ultimate target is for them to become a professional rally driver and gain success in the World Rally Championship.

Takamoto Katsuta joined the program as part of the very first selection in 2015. From minimal rally experience, he went on to achieve his first WRC podium in 2021 at the Safari Rally Kenya. Having scored further podiums on rallies from Japan to Finland, Taka is now part of Toyota’s main TGR-WRT line-up. So far he has achieved five podiums in his WRC career.

Defending champions James Ford and his co driver Neil Shanks held on to win the 2024 Silver Fern Rally, making it back to back wins.  Their winning margin after 7 days, and almost 1000 kilometres of special stages was 4 minutes 21 seconds.

Robbie and Amy Stokes finished in second place, 4 minutes 11 seconds ahead of Robert Gough and Jeremy Rogers in third. The top three positions were held by Ford Escorts.

James on his win: “It’s been a long week, we’ve had a few incidents but apart from that we’ve managed it. We have managed an engine problem since day 2. The last stage was very rough and a bit of a baptism of fire for the last stage of the rally.

“We did the same stage 2 years ago in the other direction so we knew what it was like. We had a big lead so went pretty steady”.

The 2WD Challenge was won by Chris Ramsay and Amy Hudson in Ramsay's self-built Toyota Corolla. Behind them by 9 minutes 33 seconds were Dave Strong and Rob Scott in Dave's one-off V6 Honda Jazz RS. Richard Galley and Claire Buccini in the BMW E30 just held onto third place another 5 minutes 42 seconds back.

Ben Huband and Corinne Cutler (Subaru Magnum H6) won the 4WD class from Tom Milliken and Chris Cunningham, having had a mostly trouble free rally.

The Irish pairing of Keith Hamilton and Glenn Alcorn (Subaru GC8) won the 3-Day Silver Frond by just 23.9 seconds from the Ford Escort of Stephen Gill and Grant Molloy.

The Porsche and the Lancia Stratos were repaired overnight after their heavy crashes on the penultimate day south of Dunedin.

It was all hands on deck to repair the cars for the final day.

Tuthill Porsche Team Manager: "The first job was to assess it and see what needed pulling out, then make it straight. Because it caught fire we had to redo the wiring loom too.  Luckly we had the car back (at Service) by mid-day so worked until about 10pm”.

The final day had the longest stage of the entire rally at a staggering 54 kilometres. This was one of three stages which took the survivors through some of the most picturesque landscape in the country.

Following these three stages and after lunchtime service the cars toured to Wanaka for the Ceremonial Finish at Paddons Paddock.

Of the 53 7-Day entries, 26 completed all 47 stages. James Ford showed his consistency winning 23 in the Historic section with Marcus van Klink - the only other leader for 5 stages - next on 8, while Dave Strong won 24 to Rambo's 21 in the Challenge.

Deane Buist (Ford Escort) has come out on top winning the overall 2024 Mainland Rally Championship (MRC) title after the completion of the final two rounds over the weekend. 

Having won the (Mainland Series) Rally of North Canterbury on Saturday, Buist finished runner up to Marcus van Klink (Mazda RX7 Group B) in the Westland Rally on Sunday. 

Second overall was Robbie Stokes (Ford Escort) with van Klink third followed by James Worker (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) and Dylan Thomson (Ford Fiesta).

Stokes led the series heading into the weekend, 17-points ahead of Buist but a sixth and fourth placed him just four-points behind at the end.

Stokes was the top MRC car in the opening two events, Rally Otago (April) and the South Canterbury Rally (May) while van Klink came home first in Rally Canterbury (June).  It was Mark McMillan (Subaru WRX) who took maximum points at the Wyndham Rally (August). 

Meanwhile Buist continued to gather points finishing strongly with a win and a second place in the last two rounds. 

For overall results, it is the best five of the six round series.

The battle for seven different MRC Class titles were also decided with the best four results of the six rounds.

Mike Matheson (Toyota Vitz) won Class A (0-1300cc) from Pat Norris (Toyota Yaris) and Josh Silcock (Toyota Starlet). Matheson’s co-driver Gordon Legge was top co-driver in the class.

Jack Stokes (Ford Fiesta R2) edged out Harri Silcock (Toyota Starlet) in Class B (1301-1600cc) by just 12 points with Sarah Faulkner the top co-driver in class.

Deane Buist and Marcus van Klink were tied first in Class C (1601cc and over) with Buist given first due to his competing in five rounds versus van Klink’s four.  Klinky's navigator Toby Marsh was the top co-driver in class as well as winning the overall Co-Drivers Championship Trophy.

While he may have missed the first three rounds, James Worker picked up enough points in Class D (4WD) to win the title from Caleb MacDonald with Gemma Thomas top co-driver in class.

Shane McKenzie (Mitsubishi Galant) was first home in the North Canterbury Rally, in Class E (Pre 2000 4WD), giving him enough points to claim the title ahead Nigel Ede (Subaru Legacy RS).   Mark Grimmer picked up the co-drivers’ award in class.

A dnf for Ally Mackay (Ford Escort Mk1) in the penultimate round on Saturday gave Stephen Gill (Ford Escort Mk2) the advantage in Class F (Classic 2WD), sealing the title after the Westland Rally with his co-driver Grant Molloy taking top spot as well.

Amy Keighley (Subaru) and Tom Milliken (Subaru) continued their battle in Class H6 with Keighley first home in both rounds and taking the title.  Milliken’s co-driver, Chris Cunningham, picked up the Class co-driver award.

The 2024 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, Rally Drive NZ.  

Seven-time New Zealand Rally Championship winner Hayden Paddon has stormed to a dominant win in the International Rally of Whangarei for a staggering 9th time in his career.

Paddon, in his Hyundai i20N Rally2, beat Ben Hunt (Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) by four minutes and 42 seconds to take out the winner-takes-all FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship for the second time in his career.

He won every stage of the event to underline his dominance.

It wasn’t all bad news for Hunt however, his second place enough to secure a third New Zealand national championship after Paddon missed the opening round at Otago.

Dylan Thomson finished a brilliant third in the older generation Subaru Impreza after holding off a charging Emma Gilmour (Citroen C3 Rally2) on Sunday.

Gilmour followed Paddon and Hunt home in the Asia Pacific Championship.

Bryn Jones put his best ever drive together to secure a comfortable victory in the 2WD class in his Ford Fiesta Rally4, while father Anthony Jones won the Historic class.

Ben Hunt claimed a third Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship crown after finishing second at the International Rally of Whangarei on Sunday.

Hunt, in his Skoda New Zealand Fabia Rally2 evo, took a comfortable second place to secure his third career title and first since 2019.

WRC rally winner Hayden Paddon, in the Hyundai New Zealand i20N Rally2, was the class of the field once again, powering to a dominant rally win but just missed out to Hunt in the season’s standings having missed the opening round at Otago due to a clash with his European Rally Championship. Paddon led home Hunt by four minutes and 42 seconds.

Dylan Thomson claimed third place in the Kiwi Carpet Cleaners Subaru Impreza in a stunning drive – his best ever overall finish.

He edged Emma Gilmour (Vantage New Zealand Citroen C3 Rally2) by just 12.2 seconds with Stewart Reid fifth in the SR Automotive Mitsubishi Mirage AP4.

Bryn Jones took an impressive win in the NZRC 2WD class in his Ford Fiesta Rally4– beating Jack Stokes (Ford Fiesta R2) by two minutes and 42 seconds.

Thomson had already wrapped up the championship at the previous round before swapping classes for Whangarei.

Willy Hawes finished second in class in his Toyota 86 to take out the Open 2WD championship despite title rival Dave Strong’s (Honda Jazz RS) win at Whangarei.

Paul Fraser (Ford Escort RS1800) won the Historic 2WD title after finishing runner-up to Anthony Jones (Ford Escort Mk2) over the weekend.

Mike Cameron was third in the Mitsubishi Lancer.

WRC rally winner Hayden Paddon leads the International Rally of Whangarei by two minutes and 38 seconds over two-time New Zealand rally champion Ben Hunt.

Paddon won all of the day’s 10 stages to take a commanding lead and have control of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship winner-takes-all finale in the process.

Hunt is on track to win a third national title if he can maintain second place throughout Sunday’s seven stages. Emma Gilmour (Citroen C3 Rally2) pipped Dylan Thomson for third place – Thomson running an older generation Subaru Impreza.

A number of leading contenders ran into trouble in a drama-filled day.

Talented teenager Zeal Jones slid off the road in the second stage of the day in his Skoda Fabia R5, while Robbie Stokes crashed his Ford Fiesta AP4 on stage three.

Jack Hawkeswood (Toyota GR Yaris AP4) had to replace an axle and was a temporary withdrawal, while Mike Young (Toyota Yaris AP4) suffered electrical failure late in the day while running third.

All three re-joined for the two passes through Pohe Island Super Special late in the day.

Bryn Jones (Ford Fiesta Rally4) is the leading 2WD competitor, in front of father Anthony Jones (Ford Escort Mk2), who is the first of the Historic entrants.

The rally continues on Sunday with seven more stages south of Whangarei.