Hunt and Paddon battle out title favouritism at Rally BOP
Two-time champion Ben Hunt will look to hold off the title threat of seven-time national champion Hayden Paddon at this weekend’s penultimate round of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship in the Bay of Plenty.
Hunt (Skoda New Zealand Fabia Rally 2) takes an 18-point lead over Paddon (Hyundai New Zealand i20 Rally 2) into the Battery Town Rally Bay of Plenty on Saturday, knowing a second place finish to Paddon in the two remaining rounds will see him clinch a third title.
But Paddon showcased his undeniable talent with a dominant win three weeks ago at the Daybreaker Rally and Hunt will also need to keep a watchful eye behind him with the likes of Robbie Stokes (Stokes Motorsport Ford Fiesta AP4) and impressive youngster Zeal Jones (Smith & Sons Skoda Fabia R5) chomping at the bit.
Throw in the mix Emma Gilmour (Vantage NZ Citroen C3), who looked like she was getting back to her best in her last outing and Australian Stewart Reid (SR Automotive Mitsubishi Mirage AP4) and Hunt will have plenty to keep him honest.
Dylan Thomson (Ford Fiesta) could go a long way to securing another NZRC 2WD championship if he can top the class battle in the Tauranga-based event.
Jack Stokes (Ford Fiesta), Bryn Jones (Ford Fiesta) and Tim Mackersy (Ford Fiesta) will be right behind him however.
Dave Strong (Honda Jazz) will look to continue his pursuit of Open 2WD championship leader Willy Hawes (Toyota 86) while Murray Percival (Ford Escort) provides more competition in the class.
Waikato-based Anthony Jones (Ford Escort) enters the Historic 2WD championship and should start as favourite ahead of class leader Paul Fraser (Ford Escort) and nearest rival Mike Cameron (Mitsubishi Lancer).
Southerners Caleb Macdonald (Mitsubishi EVO 6) and Carter Strang (Mitsubishi EVO 10) will continue their season-long battle and could jump up the Rally Challenge 4WD championship standings with leader Andrew Graves missing this event.
Local driver Andy Martin will be one to watch in his Subaru WRX while James Macdonald (Subaru Impreza) will look to continue his strong run of form.
Local Bay of Plenty drivers Jay Pittams (Subaru Impreza), Gavin Feast (Subaru WRX) and Phil Macquarie (Subaru WRX) should find themselves in the thick of the battle on home gravel while Vanuatu’s Julien Lenglet (Subaru Impreza) showed good speed last time out.
Jared Parker (Toyota Corolla) and Pat Norris (Toyota Yaris) will continue their title battle in the Rally Challenge 2WD class – that is closer after Parker’s DNF last time out.
The event sees competitors tackle 12 special stages across a long day of competition on Saturday, including some iconic stages that have hosted Rally New Zealand in previous years.
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