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Hayden Paddon claimed his 31st consecutive NZ rally win in a Hyundai, while Jack Hawkeswood slashed Jack Stokes' NZRC points lead to just one heading into the final two rounds.
Rally Hawke's Bay returns to the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship on Saturday 22 August 2026 — the region's first NZRC round since 2022. Cyclone Gabrielle's damage to the Hawke's Bay roading network in February 2023 forced the championship elsewhere for three seasons. Round 4 of six is the comeback.
The rally opened late on Friday 21 August with a ceremonial start in downtown Napier, before a full day of competition on Saturday on gravel roads up in the Wairoa region, north of the city. Two of the six planned special stages — SS3 Hereheretau 1 and SS6 Pohokura-Waitara — were cancelled on the day, leaving four stages of competitive action. The event was organised and promoted by the Hawke's Bay Car Club.
Hayden Paddon and co-driver Jared Hudson didn't drop a single stage all day, taking the round by 1 minute 47.0 seconds in their Paddon Rally Group-built Hyundai i20N Rally2. The win extends an active streak few New Zealand drivers have ever approached: Paddon has now won 31 rallies in a row on home soil behind the wheel of a Hyundai.
The real title battle played out behind him. Jack Hawkeswood took almost 30 seconds out of championship rival Jack Stokes on the opening stage and led the NZRC contest from start to finish, cutting Stokes' championship lead to a single point with two rounds remaining. Stokes had to settle for third outright behind his own Stokes Motorsport teammate and brother, Robbie Stokes, who finished second in the NZRC field. Quentin Palmer (Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) rounded out the top five outright.
Hawke's Bay local Grant Blackberry dominated the Rally Challenge 4WD class in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10, while Jackson Clendon won the NZRC 2WD class in his Ford Fiesta Rally4. Local crew Ben and Charlotte Harding won the Classics class in their Mazda RX7 Group B on home roads.
Full stage-by-stage results and final classification are published by ChrisSport at chrissport.nz.
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