Paddon leads international crews
The New Zealand Rally Championship continues to attract international interest with WRC star Hayden Paddon being joined by three Australian crews and one from New Caledonia for this weekend’s penultimate championship round at Whitianga.
The Hyundai NZ Goldrush Rally of Coromandel has attracted a 61-car line-up with crews tackling eight special stages on the peninsula in a sprint format event that offers 114km of competitive driving on Saturday.
Series leader Paddon — with Malcolm Peden calling the pace notes — is the top seed in his Hyundai i20 AP4 ahead of Australian Brendan Reeves, who has won the Coromandel event the last two years. Reeves drives Andrew Hawkeswood’s Force Motorsport Mazda2 AP4 and will be co-driven by his sister, Rhianon Gelsomino.
The 2015 New Zealand champion, Ben Hunt (Auckland), is seeded third in his Subaru WRX STI ahead of Australian champion, Nathan Quinn. The Coffs Harbour driver is making his fourth NZRC start of the year in a fourth different car — this time a Peugeot 208 Proto.
Canterbury drivers Matt Summerfield (Mitsubishi Mirage AP4) and Josh Marston (Holden Barina AP4) are next in the seeded order, ahead of Aucklanders Raana Horan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9) and Dylan Turner (Audi S1 AP4).
Dunedin’s Emma Gilmour (Suzuki Swift Maxi), Australia-based Irishman Richie Dalton (Ford Fiesta Proto), Tauranga’s Phil Campbell (Ford Fiesta AP4) and Havelock North’s Greg Murphy (Holden Barina AP4) are other top contenders along with Feilding’s Geof Argyle (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo8), who won the Coromandel event in 2014.
The rally largely repeats the format of the 2017 event but is about 10km shorter than last year.
It starts at 7am from the service park at Mercury Bay Sports Park and the route loops north to the Kennedy Bay stage (22.6km) starting at 8.23am and then races across the peninsula on the 309 Rd (11.45km) at 9.26am before a return to the service park at 9.51am.
The second loop runs west through the Tapu-Coroglen Rd (16.69km) at 10.48am followed by a refuel at Coromandel town, Kennedy Bay 2 at 12.31pm and 309 Rd 2 at 1.34pm. After the second visit to the service park, the rally loops through Tapu-Coroglen 2 at 2.56pm and 309 Rd 3 at 4.04pm before a slightly altered version of the 1km Joan Gaskell Drive tarmac super special stage at 4.37pm.
The 5.15pm finish ceremony is at Blacksmith Lane in Whitianga. After the Coromandel event, competitors will tally their best four results from the first five rounds of the championship and carry those points forward to the final round — the Hyundai NZ Rally of Raglan Coast — on Saturday October 13. Hayden Paddon (Wanaka) Hyundai i20 AP4, 118pts
Josh Marston (Christchurch) Holden Barina AP4, 85pts
Ben Hunt (Auckland) Subaru WRX STI, 80pts
Nathan Quinn (Australia), Ford Fiesta/Lancer Evo8, 71pts
Matt Summerfield (Rangiora) Mitsubishi Mirage AP4, 64pts
Emma Gilmour (Dunedin) Suzuki Swift Maxi, 62pts
Raana Horan (Auckland) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9, 58pts
John Silcock (Rangiora) Mazda RX-7, 55pts
Dylan Thomson (Christchurch) Ford Fiesta ST, 51pts