NZ Rally Championship title wide open
- Dave Worsley
- Apr 3
- 2 min read
The 2025 New Zealand Rally Championship starts this weekend with the Otago Rally and the overall title the most open in recent history.
WRC star Hayden Paddon will compete in selective rounds of the championship paving the way for the best domestic competitors to go all out for the gold star.
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Defending champion Ben Hunt starts as favourite in his Skoda New Zealand Fabia Rally 2 but a number of other contenders are set to mount a valid challenge of the three-time national champion.
Hunt has proven to be fast and consistent in recent years, rarely making mistakes. That should see him start the season as the clear favourite but a number of others can put up a compelling case.
Jack Hawkeswood is the most recent round winner on the entry list, having topped the podium at Otago Rally in 2024 and returns with his Hawkeswood Mining Toyota Yaris AP4 aiming to repeat that performance.
Cantabrian Robbie Stokes demonstrated speed and a maturity in driving over the first half of the 2024 campaign and he returns this year with a factory-built Skoda Fabia Rally 2 car of his own, that should immediately catapult him into title consideration.
Younger brother Jack Stokes – who impressed in NZRC 2WD last year – will take over the steering wheel of the Stokes Motorsport Ford Fiesta AP4 and should not be discounted.
Dunedin local Emma Gilmour’s second half form in 2024 should see her enter the campaign with her best shot at winning a national title in her more than two-decade long career. The Vantage New Zealand Citroen driver showcased renewed speed as she got more seat time in the car and will be desperate to put on a good showing at her home event.
Josh Marston returns to the championship after a season off and should immediately find himself in the mix in his RDL Holden Barina AP4.
Kingsley Jones is another to make a return to the championship, piloting his Auckland Denture Clinic Skoda Fabia R5 car that nephew Zeal Jones did so well in last year.
Auckland’s Haydn Mackenzie is another dark horse – he is set for a full campaign in the Albany Toyota Yaris AP4.
