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No-one has competed in more Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championships than Dave Strong but the veteran driver isn’t planning on giving it away any time soon. Strong looked arguably the driver to beat lining up at the season opening Otago Rally in his Honda Jazz but things didn’t go his way during

What a weekend we had to open the season in Otago. Fittingly, the NZRC Live team were out and about – until the wee small hours – to get all the goss for this edition of From the Service Park. Emotional win for Hawkeswood There wouldn’t be many people involved in the sport that weren’t

Jack Hawkeswood has held off a charging Robbie Stokes to claim his first ever win in the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship at Rally Otago on Sunday. Hawkeswood completed a start-to-finish win in his Force Motorsport Toyota GR Yaris and becomes the first second generation driver in history to win a round

Jack Hawkeswood produced a career drive to lead the Otago Rally by 19.4 seconds over fellow second-generation driver Robbie Stokes in the season opening event of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship on Saturday. Hawkeswood dominated the day in his Force Motorsport Toyota GR Yaris, winning the opening stage and showcasing a

A wide-open field will contest the opening round of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship this weekend with any number of contenders making a case to win. Seven-time national champion Hayden Paddon’s absence – he will miss the opening round due to a clash with his European Rally Championship commitments – opens

Chris Grant is a leading authority on New Zealand rallying. On event, he works as a part of the Chrissport results team and off event is known as ‘Google Grant’, the ultimate search engine for rallying information. We’ve got Chris to dig in to his magical black book to give us some key stats ahead

A refreshed and refocused Robbie Stokes will tackle the 2024 Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship this year and looms as a possible dark horse. Stokes will line up as one of the title contenders in his Stokes Motorsport Ford Fiesta AP4 starting with this week’s Otago Rally. The talented Cantabrian has been

Pukekohe’s Ben Hunt enters the 2024 Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship chasing a third title, something that would put him on a par with legends of our sport like Tony Teesdale, Neil Allport and Joe McAndrew. And with Hayden Paddon missing the two-day opening round and the 44 points it offers, many

Whitford Junior driver Jack Hawkeswood sees the 2024 Brian Green Property Group as his best shot yet to crown himself New Zealand rally champion. While Hawkeswood enters the season with his Force Motorsport Toyota GR Yaris AP4 that has seen him through two partial campaigns in the past two seasons, plenty of development as well

Gilmour will contest her first full NZRC campaign since 2018 and is hoping the stars are aligning for her to win a break-through title. One of the more experienced campaigners in the field, Gilmour has fashioned an outstanding record during her time competing in the national championship and should feature prominently this season as she

Paddon will miss the extra point scoring Otago Rally due to a clash with the opening event of his European Rally Championship schedule, leaving the rest of the Kiwi field with a massive opportunity to strike a significant blow. While disappointed he misses one of his favoured events, Paddon will be at the remaining five

The most open field in recent history will contest the opening round of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship but the big omission is seven-time national champion Hayden Paddon. Paddon’s name was a glaring absence from the official entry list confirmed on Monday, throwing the 2024 championship wide open. By missing the

The uber-talented 19-year-old will run a Smith & Sons-backed Skoda Fabia R5 and will make his championship debut at the season opening round in Otago in April. The car has been run over the past few seasons by uncle Kingsley Jones and the younger Jones is aiming to put a whole season deal together. He

The NZRC Live crew were in attendance at Dylan Thomson’s wedding over the weekend and were able to gain some valuable insights ahead of the 2024 Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship. It was great to be able to celebrate with Dylan – one of the championship’s real good guys – as he

The Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship has confirmed a six-round 2024 calendar that will see the first half of the season take place in the South Island and second half in the North. Championship organisers have also confirmed the addition of the Southern Lights Rally, to be based in Invercargill and using

We hope everyone enjoyed Battery Town Rally Bay of Plenty over the weekend and have enjoyed the 2023 season as a whole. With Dylan Turner and Jack Hawkeswood not competing over the weekend, we are a little light on material this time but there were still plenty of things to look at. SVG is a

Hayden Paddon has won Battery Town Rally Bay of Plenty to secure an unprecedented seventh national title in the process, edging Supercars star Shane van Gisbergen by 29.6 seconds. Paddon was battling Raana Horan for the Brian Green Property Group 2023 championship, but an early Horan mishap saw any chance of an upset evaporate. It

Hayden Paddon will chase his seventh national championship while Raana Horan is poised to pick up the spoils if the WRC rally winner has any problems this weekend in the Bay of Plenty. Paddon holds a commanding 14-point lead in the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship and needs only to finish the

Rally fans will have one last chance to see Supercars champion, Bathurst winner and motorsport superstar Shane van Gisbergen on gravel when he tackles Battery Town Rally Bay of Plenty this weekend. Fresh off winning a third Bathurst 1000 crown last weekend alongside fellow Kiwi Richie Stanaway, Van Gisbergen returns to gravel for the final

Rally New Zealand are proud to announce the six co-drivers who have been selected to participate in the 2023 Rally New Zealand Co-driver Academy, to be held in Auckland on November 3-5. 2023 marks the return of the academy for a fourth edition after a four-year lay off. It sees co-drivers train with experienced professionals

As we head to our final event of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship for 2023 we take a look at the overall points situation. Challenge Jeff Ward holds a three-point lead over young rival Zeal Jones. Ward currently holds the tie-break advantage so Jones would need to beat Ward in the

This week we take a look at each individual class within the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship to see what the battle looks like heading into the final round. Group A Tim Smith currently holds a nine-point lead, but he is not going to be competing at Bay of Plenty, throwing the

Former national champion and rally legend Andrew Hawkeswood has given his support of a control tyre being introduced into the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship. Championship organisers confirmed on Thursday they have inked a three-year deal with MRF Tyres as the official tyre supplier of categories 1-4 in the national championship beginning

The Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship will run a control tyre in 2024 with MRF Tyres confirmed as the official tyre partner for the next three years. It is the first time in the 45-year history of the championship that a control tyre, used by all competitors competing in categories 1-4, has

This week we take a look at where the first block of our championships are sitting, heading into the final round at Rally Bay of Plenty in October. Teams Cup Cat 5: The Teams Cup Cat 5 championship is currently lead by Jnr Masters team, which is made up of veteran driver Brian Green and

Our first visit back to the Manawatu was a big success and the NZRC team was suitably impressed with Feilding as a host town. The lovely little rural town proved a great spot, with plenty of friendly locals and big interest in a slick ceremonial opening. A job well done A shout out to T-Mac,

Six-time national champion Hayden Paddon has driven to a comfortable victory at the Daybreaker Rally on Saturday – the fourth round of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship. Paddon (Hyundai NZ i20 Rally 2) was in control throughout, battling being the first car on the road and being forced to sweep roads

The Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship roars back to life this week after a three-month hiatus as the best rally drivers in the country tackle the iconic Daybreaker Rally. Based out of Feilding in the Manawatu and using roads made famous by an event that is steeped in folklore, the Daybreaker Rally

The open 4WD is the shop window of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship and WRC star Hayden Paddon has certainly underlined his talents by dominating the class recently. The Hyundai star began the year as the overwhelming favourite but a schedule forced to change due to weather events in the North

The NZRC 2WD championship is one of the most hotly contested within the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship with a stack of up-and-coming stars and one wily veteran squaring off. With two leading competitors in defending champ Dylan Thomson and Bryn Jones getting new cars for round two, pressure was on Jackson

After four years away, Rally of New Zealand are proud to announce the highly successful Rally New Zealand Co-Drivers Academy will return in 2023. The academy, which is aimed at developing Kiwi co-driving talent, will take on six co-drivers and will be held in Auckland on November 3-5. Rally New Zealand have once again enlisted

The Open 2WD class of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship is evenly poised with two rounds to go with up to five competitors still theoretically in the title battle. Defending series champion Daniel Haines battled veteran driver Dave Strong throughout the 2022 championship and a similar battle was expected this year.

The Historic 2WD title battle has become a two-horse race – and a close one at that – between defending champion John Silcock and Australian Stewart Reid. The two combatants have each enjoyed dominance over the other across the 2023 championship so far and little separates them with two rallies left to contest. Silcock, the

The Rally Challenge 4WD class within the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship is one of the most competitive and has already delivered a thrilling ride for fans so far.  The Challenge is designed as a gateway class into the full NZRC, with competitors only scoring points on the opening day of the

The 2WD Rally Challenge championship has been a difficult one for many competitors and that has led to a wide-open championship fight to crown a winner over the final two rounds of the season. The class is designed to give competitors a stepping-stone into a bigger campaign in the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand

The Group A Rally Challenge is a class specific to 4WD cars built prior to the end of 1995, to celebrate an exciting era of the sport before the advent of the world rally car. For the 2023 season, cars complying with the Mainland Rally Series H6 class of Subaru Impreza's have also been added

This week, we turn our attention to the up and coming stars of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship and check out the young guns in the Junior Championship. Catering to competitors under the age of 25 as at January 1, points are awarded at the end of the opening day to

While last week we touched on Gold Card competitors who have plenty of experience, this week we look at the newbies to the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship as we highlight the Rookie championship. Like the Gold Card and Junior championships, the Rookie championship scores points only on the opening day of

This week we focus on the newest class within the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship, the Gold Card Cup. Introduced in 2021, as the name suggests, drivers over the age of 65 qualify for the class with results decided across the first day of each event. With three drivers registered for the

This week we turn the spotlight onto the race for the Manufacturers' title. Manufacturers play an important part within the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship, without them we literally wouldn’t have cars to start with! After years of a two-horse race with Subaru and Mitsubishi, the introduction of the AP4 formula to

Eight different combinations entered the Teams’ Cup in the 2023 Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship and with just two rounds remaining there is something of a surprise leader. This championship sees two crews work together to combine their respective class scores from each of the five rounds of the 2023 championship. With

The Teams' Cup is often overlooked in the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship, but brings competitors from multiple classes together. This week, we shine the spotlight on the Teams' Cup for Challenge competitors, those competing in Categories 5a & 5b. To start the season off, just the two teams registered, "Team GCs"

Hawkeswood has major case of FOMO Jack Hawkeswood was a noticeable absentee from South Canterbury over the weekend but the talented youngster was watching closely, commenting on the live stream and in constant dialogue with organisers. Apparently he is in the midst of gaining his helicopter licence, which will make it much easier getting to

Raana Horan has taken a second career win in the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship after a dramatic ending to the third round at South Canterbury. Horan inherited the lead in his Generator Rental Services Skoda Fabia Rally 2 when rally leader and title hopeful Ben Hunt slid off the road on