Championship protagonists go head-to-head
Championship protagonists Jack Stokes, Jack Hawkeswood and Robbie Stokes go head-to-head in an entertaining first in this week’s BB and Budgie’s Thursday Night Recce.
The title contending trio join Blair Bartels to look at how the 2026 season is shaping up, and they discuss what life is like in the NZRC after getting a break-through rally win.
The three youngsters are all chasing a maiden NZRC title and it feels like the battle will be fierce all season and will go right down to the wire.
“I think anytime you ask someone if they’ve got anything left in the tank, they’re always going to say I’ve got heaps left; I was driving slow,” Jack Hawkeswood told BB and Budgie’s Thursday Night Recce.
“It’s so tight even between the three of us, we can’t exactly muck around and especially when there are leg points and power stage points.
“There is always a little bit of room to back off.”
Fresh off a maiden win, Jack Stokes is adamant he doesn’t feel any more pressure heading to the next round – especially his home event at Lonestar Rally Canterbury presented by Joe’s Garage.
“I sort of grew up on these roads and always love being up in North Canterbury and stuff like that,” Stokes said.
“The car went fantastic at Dunedin and we’re just trying to improve on that, gain some confidence but obviously the championship battle’s still on so you gotta be on it straight away.”
Brother Robbie Stokes had a costly mechanical failure at Otago and he now has the most work to do of the three contenders, but he knows there is a long way to go in this championship.
“Amy, my sister, actually reminded me two years ago Hayden wasn’t even at Otago and look how close the championship got,” Robbie Stokes said.
“I’m not saying that we’ll do what Hayden could do but anything is possible is what he’s shown.”
To see the whole interview, jump on the NZRC socials from 8pm on Thursday night.
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