Manufacturers championship – mid-season update
A total of 9 manufacturers are represented in the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship and with three rounds down, there is still plenty to play for.
Cars nominated to score points for a manufacturer are the top two seeded cars from any manufacturer within Cat 1-3, plus 3, 2 and 1 bonus points for the first three manufacturers from Categories 2 & 3.
The opening round, Rally Otago, would see Toyota top the points score, Jack Hawkeswood representing the 4WD side with a breakthrough win after a titanic battle, while Willy Hawes would use his Toyota 86 to pick up 2 bonus points. They’d outscore defending champions Ford by two points, Robbie Stokes taking them to second place, while Dylan Thomson would pick up maximum bonus points. Skoda (Ben Hunt) and Citroen (Emma Gilmour), the two remaining manufacturers represented with finishers were in third and fourth respectively.
Hyundai would return at round two, the South Canterbury Rally, with Hayden Paddon and would take the maximum 25 points, equalled by Ford who combined second place points with maximum bonus points from the Stokes/Thomson combo. Next highest scorer was Skoda, back on 20 points with another third place finish from Hunt, then Citroen and Honda tied (Honda taking sixth, plus two bonus points courtesy of Dave Strong) edging out Mitsubishi (Stewart Reid) and Toyota (Hawes taking seventh and the final bonus point).
The third round took crews to the far south for the Southern Lights Rally, based from Invercargill. Hyundai again would be the first across the line with Paddon, this time two points clear of the Ford pairing again being Stokes (3rd) & Thomson (1st). Second for Skoda meant they’d bag 22 points, while Hawkeswood and Hawes would net 20 points for Toyota with fourth and third. Gilmour added 18 points to Citroen’s tally, ahead of Mitsubishi again with Reid. Volkswagen and Honda were then equal on 16, Andy Martin taking Volkswagen to seventh while Strong would take Honda to ninth plus two bonus points. The pair were split by Mazda, driven by Vanuatu’s Nelson Law.
After three rounds, Ford are on track to repeat their 2023 success, 73 points putting them clear of Toyotas 64. Skoda are hot on their heels with 62, then Citroen on 56. Hyundai are fighting back after their no score at round one with 50, then Mitsubishi and Honda equal on 35. Volkswagen (16) and Mazda (15) round out the scoring.
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