It’s the news Kiwi rally fans have been hoping for – New Zealanders Hayden Paddon and John Kennard are returning to compete in the FIA World Rally Championship with Hyundai Motorsport in 2026!  

Paddon and Kennard have been asked to rejoin Hyundai Motorsport for a part-time programme in the 2026 WRC. The popular Kiwis are confirmed to contest the opening WRC round, Monte Carlo, running 22 to 25 January in a Hyundai i20 N Rally1 car. The other drivers running the team’s third Hyundai i20 N Rally1 have been confirmed as Dani Sordo and Esapekka Lappi.  

Paddon says, “There’s a lot of emotion – a mix of excitement, anxiety and just wanting to get going. That’s the best way to describe getting the call-up from Hyundai Motorsport to return to the World Rally Championship. It’s certainly not what we expected but we’ve never given up with all the programmes we’ve been doing over the last eight years all over the world.”  

Fresh from winning his first Australian Rally Championship in 2025 after two back-to-back European Rally Championship titles in 2023 and 2024, Paddon appreciates the significance of this opportunity where he’s expected to contest three to five WRC rounds.  

“It’s massive,” says Paddon. “A pinch yourself moment to think that eight years after we were last in the WRC, we’re going back. That’s pretty unheard of. So many people believed in us for so many years. Of course, we’re going to take this opportunity with both hands and do the best job we can and see what we can make of it.”  

He's very aware what’s expected of him. “It’s a different mindset to what it was eight or ten years ago when you’re young and ambitious and it was all about trying to win rallies and be a world champion. This time around it’s about being a team player. We have a very clear role to play to within the team and that’s in a supporting role, to collect points and be consistent. I guess we can back ourselves in what we’ve been good at doing over the past few years all over the world, and have solid experience and some wisdom to lean into. I guess that’s one of good things of being older, and we’ll try to use that to our best advantage.”  

The 2026 season will mark Paddon and Kennard’s 21st year rallying together.  

“It’s great to continue this partnership with John and it’s also great to see our loyalty to the Hyundai brand, which started 12 years ago, has helped create this opportunity,” said Paddon. 

“I’m hugely thankful to so many people to make this happen. Obviously there’s a lot of work to do in a short space of time as we head into rallies that we don’t have so much experience of and not necessarily rallies that you’d call favourites but we’ll take the opportunities we’re being given make the most of it.”  

Kennard is also excited to have this new opportunity. “I’m super happy that Hayden and I will be competing in WRC events with Hyundai Motorsport again. I’ll be working equally as hard as Hayden to make the most of the opportunities.”  

This coming weekend, Paddon is competing in a Hyundai i20 N Rally2 car in a French tarmac rally, Rallye National Hivernal du Devoluy, with UK co-driver Jack Morton alongside for the first time. The asphalt rally, in the south-east of France, is renowned as a Monte Carlo warm-up. Paddon joins Hyundai team-mate Adrien Fourmaux at the event, who’ll pilot a Rally1 car.

Two-time World Rally Champion Kalle Rovanperä’s single seater journey will begin in January in New Zealand in the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy.

In a symbolic first step, he will join the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing-supported championship to begin a transformational process that the young star hopes will take him to the top level of circuit racing.  

Speaking after confirming his retirement from rallying, the 25-year-old Finn made it clear he has his sights set on progressing towards the highest levels of single seaters, which will include Super Formula in 2026.  

“It has not been an easy choice by any means,” he explained. “I have already achieved so much in rallying and I have achieved those things at a young age.  

“It feels like the right timing to pursue my next dreams and challenges. We’ve been making some good plans to prepare the best ways possible so that I can make the most of this opportunity. I’m really looking forward to pushing myself in the world of single seater.”  

His single seater circuit racing journey will begin with Hitech in the highly-regarded Castrol Toyota FR Oceania Trophy. The 2026 championship will race over four consecutive weekends with two rounds in New Zealand’s North Island and two in the South Island, including the concluding event of the 2026 season – the 70th New Zealand Grand Prix at Highlands Motorsport Park.  

All of the championship’s circuits are highly-respected for their challenging and unforgiving characteristics and are the perfect training ground to prepare drivers for northern hemisphere campaigns. 

Rovanperä will compete in Japan’s Super Formula championship which begins in April 2026 at Motegi, just two months after his campaign in NZ concludes.  

The NZ championship will be the good opportunity for Kalle to gain more experience of circuit racing, which has been limited to races in the Porsche GT3 Cup during 2024 when he enjoyed a year out from full-time rallying after winning back-to-back World Rally Championship titles in 2022 and 2023.  

He joined Toyota and the WRC’s top level aged just 19 in 2020 and during the following three years set new standards in the sport. He became the championship’s youngest-ever podium finisher, youngest-ever rally winner and then youngest-ever world champion when he clinched his first title at Rally New Zealand the day after his 22nd birthday.  

Fans will be able to follow Kalle’s progress in the championship easily. Qualifying will be livestreamed on TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s YouTube channel. Races will also be on that channel and on SkySport domestically in New Zealand. Races will also be streamed live on the Motorsport.TV platform.

The Otago Rally is once again offering two young driver scholarships for the 2026 event, thanks to the support of naming rights sponsor Central Machine Hire. Valued at in excess of $2,500 each, the scholarships are to encourage young drivers, preferably new to the rally, who might otherwise struggle to fund their entry into the event.

The scholarships have been made possible through the support of Central Machine Hire owner Allan Dippie.

When Central Machine Hire came on board as the event sponsor, it was one of their priorities to foster the next generation, via assistance with scholarships.

Allan Dippie is a long time Otago Rally competitor and supporter of rallying.

“I’ve been really impressed with the standard of scholarship applicants in the past," he said.

"All 15 applications last year were from extremely motivated and hardworking individuals, who showed a love of the sport and real ability as a driver. It’s a highlight of the event to be able to support the winners.”

Scholarship co-ordinator Tony Johnston added: “This scholarship is what the sport is all about. It’s a tough sport to get ahead in and we know it gives a real boost to the recipients.

“Last year’s recipients, Cromwell’s Terri Taylor and North Canterbury’s Harri Silcock, both performed really well, and demonstrated a dedication to the sport and appreciation of the support.”

Young New Zealand competitors are encouraged to put in an application for one of the scholarships.

Preference is for one of the recipients to be from the Otago region.

The 2026 scholarship application link is below, and email your entry to Tony Johnston: stonerally@hotmail.com

Applications close on Friday, December 12, with the winners advised on Monday, December 22, 2025.  

https://otagorally.com/2025/11/28/two-scholarships-on-offer-for-2026-central-machine-hire-otago-rally/

The Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship will return to Southland and Hawke’s Bay in 2026 with confirmation of the 2026 calendar.

MotorSport New Zealand has signed off on a six-round championship that sees the three South Island rounds/three North Island rounds split continue next year.

The championship will begin with the 50th running of The Central Machine Hire Otago Rally on April 10-12.

Round two is Lone Star Rally Canterbury in association with Joe's Garage on King’s Birthday Weekend (Sunday May 31), while the third round of the championship will see teams head back to Invercargill for the Barry Robinson Memorial Rally Southland on Saturday July 18.

The rally will be run by the Eastern Southland Car Club.

After a shorter mid-season break, the championship will head back to Hawke’s Bay on Saturday August 22 for the first time since 2022.

It will be an emotional return after the floods of early 2023 damaged so many roads in the region and forced the championship to have to go elsewhere in recent times.

Vertex Oil International Rally of Whangarei moves forward on the calendar next year with a September 25-27 date confirmed.

The championship will conclude at Battery Town Rally Bay of Plenty on Saturday October 31.

Championship co-ordinator Blair Bartels was relieved to finally get dates locked in.

“It is always a challenge balancing the needs of each event, with council requirements, championship needs and doing what’s best for the competitor,” Bartels said.

“I am delighted to have this calendar confirmed.

“We know it will be an exciting challenge for competitors, with the different nuances of each event providing a unique test.

“I’d like to officially welcome Southland and Hawke’s Bay and their organising teams and thank all of our existing events. In the same breath, I'd also like to thank the South Canterbury Car Club, who have been great supporters of the championship since 2018.”

2026 NZRC Calendar

April 10-12 Central Machine Hire Otago Rally

Sunday May 31 Lonestar Rally of Canterbury in association with Joe’s Garage

Saturday July 18 Barry Robinson Memorial Southland

Saturday August 22 Rally Hawke’s Bay

September 25-27 Vertex Oil International Rally of Whangarei

Saturday October 31 Battery Town Rally Bay of Plenty

Kiwi rally stars Hayden Paddon and John Kennard have done what they set out to do with their 20th season of rallying together and that’s to secure the Possum Bourne Trophy as the winners of the 2025 EROAD Australian Rally Championship at the final round in Tasmania, 8-9 November.  

Driving their Hyundai i20 Rally2, Paddon and Kennard are the second all-New Zealand pairing to win the Australian championship, following Possum Bourne and Craig Vincent who won the ARC title five times, consecutively from 1996 to 1999 and again in 2001, with Bourne also winning the title with Mark Stacey alongside in 2000 and 2002.  

At 66 years old, Kennard may well be the oldest co-driver in the world to win a national rally title.  

Having won four of the five previous ARC rounds, the Kiwis headed to the Burnie-based, two-day rally with a lead of 85 points.  

On paper, they needed to finish 12th or better to secure the championship. On the results table, Paddon and Kennard finished third overall in Tasmania. But, just getting to the finish had its ups and downs with a relatively smooth run through Saturday’s eight stages, the pair held a comfortable second place overnight, just 7.4 seconds behind rally leaders Harry Bates and Coral Taylor. Finishing Sunday’s eight stages proved a little more challenging with a broken damper on the second run through the rally’s single, longest stage – a monster 44 km – meaning they needed to nurse the Hyundai through to the stage finish. The pair kept their cool and cruised through the rally’s final stage to ensure they reached the finish as planned and wrap up their first Australian rally title.  

“We’re really happy to get the result over the line,” says Paddon. “There was a lot of pressure this weekend just to finish. Performance wasn’t really an aspect we needed to push for and it’s always a bit more nerve wracking when it’s like that. Things can happen that are outside your control, which almost did with a broken damper this afternoon and losing a bit of time as we nursed the car home. In the end, we got home in P3 which, in some ways, is almost irrelevant.  

“It’s great to bring home the result and win the championship. It’s great to do this for the whole team. Everyone’s put in a lot of work this year.  

“To put our name alongside our hero Possum Bourne feels somewhat surreal. It’s very, very cool, and something the whole team can be very proud of, especially being on the road and travelling around Australia and doing it all on what’s pretty much a shoestring budget.  

“We’ve really loved our time here in the Australian Championship: the comradery, how we’ve been welcomed, the competition levels have been really, really great. We’ve loved it, and this is a great way to finish off the season.”  

Follow Hayden Paddon and PRG team news and results via the Facebook page  

PRG appreciates the support of their partners including Hyundai New Zealand, Caltex Havoline Oil, Mitre 10 Trade, Winmax Brake Pads, Bar’s Bugs, EROAD, Ben Nevis Station, Wipertech, Design Windows, MITO, Repco, Machinery House, King Gee, KiwiFibre, TrailLite, Hankook, Z Energy, Blaster and Signbiz.

Robbie Stokes has won his second career Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship round by taking out the season-ending Vertex Oil International Rally of Whangarei.

Stokes (Stokes Motorsport Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) beat home the 2025 Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally champion Ben Hunt (Skoda New Zealand Fabia Rally2 evo) by one minute and 15 seconds on Sunday to finish his campaign on a high.

Hunt, who did enough on day one on Saturday to wrap up the title, joins Hayden Paddon, Richard Mason and Bruce Herbert in the list of men to win at least four career championships.

New Junior Champion Jack Stokes (Stokes Motorsport Ford Fiesta AP4) had been fighting his brother Robbie over the lead of the event throughout the contest until a puncture on stage 16 saw him lose time and drop off the podium. He finished fourth.

Instead, Jack Hawkeswood grabbed a podium in the debut event for his brand new Vertu Equipment Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. Hawkeswood edged Hunt to grab second in the day two honours.

Bryn Jones (Ford Fiesta Rally4) took advantage of a late drama for NZRC 2WD rival Tim Mackersy (Ford Fiesta Rally4) to pick up the class win. He also did enough to secure the overall 2WD title.

Dave Strong (Honda Jazz RS) claimed the Open 2WD class win to celebrate his 2025 class title that he secured by starting the event.

Tim McIver was rewarded for bringing his Ford Escort up from Christchurch by taking out the Historic 2WD class win ahead of the new Gold Card champion Mike Cameron (Mitsubishi Lancer).

Deane Buist (Ford Escort) had already won the Historic championship on Saturday, while Cameron jumped to second with another podium finish in Whangarei.

The championship will return in 2026 with the first round to be held in Otago in April.

Robbie Stokes has capped a dramatic week by taking day one honours at the Vertex Oil International Rally of Whangarei, but championship rival Ben Hunt has provisionally claimed the 2025 Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship.

Hunt (Skoda New Zealand Fabia Rally2 evo) secured his fourth career title when he claimed third place and the three championship points on the power stage (stage 4) on Saturday.

It means he has an unassailable lead in the points.

Stokes (Stokes Motorsport Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo), who lost his win at the previous round due to a breach of the rules earlier in the week, pipped brother Jack Stokes on the final stage of the day to take a 4.8 second lead into Sunday.

The younger Stokes had dominated much of the day in another outstanding drive in the Stokes Motorsport Ford Fiesta AP4, but he dropped seven seconds to his brother in the second pass through the Pohe Island Super Special stage due to his windscreen wiper motor failing right at the wrong moment.

Hunt holds third place, 36 seconds off the lead.

Caleb Macdonald and Larisa Biggar claimed the Rally Challenge 4WD championship by safely finishing the day in their borrowed Subaru Magnum H6, securing enough points to win the title.

Haydn Mackenzie (Toyota Yaris Proto) took the rally class honours after a faultless drive while Ben Huband (Subaru Impreza WRX) and Gavin Feast (Subaru WRX) completed the podium.

Josh Keighley (Subaru Magnum H6) held off the challenge of Kevin Laird (Subaru Impreza H6) to win the Group A Challenge championship and has is now also the Rookie Champion.

Macdonald and Laird (as the Big Belly Rally Team) combined to win the Category 5 Teams Cup.

Bryn Jones (Ford Fiesta Rally4) needs to finish Sunday’s stages to secure the NZRC 2WD championship, but he trails rival Tim Mackersy (Ford Fiesta Rally4) by 37.7 seconds after the opening day.

Deane Buist (Ford Escort) was able to provisionally secure the NZRC Historic title after rival Steve Gill (Ford Escort) crashed out. Buist also failed to finish but has enough points to claim victory.

Tim McIver (Ford Escort) enjoyed a superb day to hold the lead in the class – comfortably ahead of Mike Cameron (Mitsubishi Lancer).

Dave Strong (Honda Jazz RS) was the only starter in the Open 2WD class and secured the title simply by starting the event. He enjoyed a solid day back in his favoured car.

Buist holds a 12 point lead over Jones in the 2WD series, so his advantage is under serious threat if Bryn can finish and take Round points, as Deane can now only add a maximum of 7 Leg points to his total. Therefore If Bryn is able to repeat his performance today, he would overhaul Deane right at the end of the final round.

Jack Stokes may have just missed out on his first NZRC outright Leg Win, but he has become the Junior Champion for the under 25 year olds.

The rally continues on Sunday with a further eight stages.

The 2025 Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship concludes this weekend with the final event on the calendar – the Vertex Oil International Rally of Whangarei.

The week started with controversy with news championship protagonist Robbie Stokes (Stokes Motorsport Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) had been excluded from the previous round – Battery Town Rally Bay of Plenty – due to checking into a service park twice.

After an on-the-day punishment was overturned by a MotorSport New Zealand hearing, Stokes saw his win and four power stage points evaporate and that has had a major impact on the championship showdown at Whangarei.

Defending national champion Ben Hunt (Skoda New Zealand Fabia Rally2 evo) therefore now holds a 41-point lead heading into the event with 44 points up for grabs. Hunt can nab a fourth career title if he was to finish third in the power stage on Saturday or finish the first leg in a podium spot.

Stokes can mathematically win a maiden championship if Hunt were to have major issues early on but even then, the Cantabrian would likely need to sweep the weekend to come out on top.

The Battle

Jack Stokes (Stokes Motorsport Ford Fiesta AP4), Jack Hawkeswood (Force Motorsport Toyota GR Yaris AP4), and Kingsley Jones (Auckland Denture Clinic Skoda Fabia R5) are all capable of pushing for a rally win, particularly with Hunt needing only to finish essentially to wrap up the title.

The younger Stokes has been close to a maiden round win all season while Hawkeswood will (finally) farewell the AP4 Yaris. Jones should not be discounted on roads he will have some knowledge of either, though lack of seat time might see him be more of a podium threat than an outright threat.

Other Classes

Up and down the field we see a final battle for championships.

Bryn Jones (Ford Fiesta Rally4) and Tim Mackersy (Ford Fiesta Rally4) continue their season long battle. Jones has had the edge, albeit slightly, at each event so far. He carries a 20-point advantage into the final round, knowing a finish will be enough. Japanese driver Fuyuhiko Takahashi has entered his Ford Fiesta Rally 4 car for the event too.

Dave Strong (Honda Jazz RS) will effectively become the Open 2WD champion the moment the event starts, with his only class rival not heading north.

Deane Buist (Ford Escort) has dominated the Historic 2WD class all season with some head-turning performances but he will still need to finish to ensure the title is his. Tim McIver (Ford Escort) joins the class this weekend to keep second-placed Stephen Gill (Ford Escort) honest. Mike Cameron (Mitsubishi Lancer) can secure third in the standings if he is able to finish.

Caleb Macdonald will aim to close out the Rally Challenge 4WD class after borrowing a Subaru H6 Impreza off title rival Ben Huband in an astonishing show of sportsmanship. With his car wrecked at Bay of Plenty, Northland-based Huband offered up a spare car so Macdonald can have a crack at winning. The South Islander will take a 10-point lead into the event. Haydn Mackenzie (Toyota Yaris Proto) and Julien Lenglet (Subaru Impreza WRX) will both be contenders for the class win this weekend and can take points from the championship contenders. Josh Keighley (Subaru Impreza H6) holds second place, 10 points behind Macdonald, while Huband and Gavin Feast (Subaru WRX) are both still in the title battle as well.

Ian Warren (Nissan Pulsar) is set to become the Rally Challenge 2WD champion once the event starts, with Thomas Paul not entering. Kyle Percival (Ford Escort) will keep him honest. Keighley holds a narrow six point advantage in the Group A Challenge class but Kevin Laird (Subaru Impreza H6) is right there in what shapes as a great finale.

Keep a close eye on

The new layout. Event organisers have made the biggest change to the layout in years, which will see competitors enjoying roads in the Kaipara Regional down around Dargaville. It will also see crews having to do more remote servicing, which adds to the complexities of the opening day at least.

Best Spectating

You can see the cars up close at the ceremonial opening in downtown Whangarei on Friday night, while the Pohe Island Super Special stage is run twice on Saturday afternoon, and is always an easy place to see the cars in action.

New Zealanders Hayden Paddon and John Kennard are poised to secure their first EROAD Australian Rally Championship title in Tasmania at this weekend’s final round, but the championship’s not yet in bag for the popular Kiwis.  

Having won four of the five rallies so far in their Hyundai i20 Rally2, Paddon and Kennard lead their respective drivers’ and co-drivers’ championships with 470 points, 85 points ahead of closest rivals Lewis Bates and Anthony McLoughlin.

With 100 points available to the winner of Rally Tasmania, plus a potential bonus ten points for the fastest through the power stage, the Kiwis are keeping their focus on doing what needs to be done to win the championship.  

Paddon explains, “The rally result is irrelevant, and we are not even aiming to win the rally. While on paper, it looks that we just have to finish 12th or better, this being an endurance event, means we must finish both days of the rally. This shifts the focus from performance to reliability and safety. To be honest, as a driver, that’s makes it harder. For John and me in the car, it’s about driving fast enough to keep our focus, but also minimising risks, keeping a safety margin in terms of how hard we push.”   

Rally Tasmania takes place 7 to 9 November inland of the northern town of Burnie and comprises 14 special stages and 217.02 competitive kilometres, including the championship’s single, longest stage, a monster 44 km being run twice on Sunday.  

Paddon says the team plans to run the car with a safe setup, carrying more spares, etc.  

“Too much effort has gone into this season by everyone at PRG, working away from home and literally in various workshops around the country, for us not to achieve our core goal for 2025. It would mean a lot to all of us to finish the job off, so that means putting any egos aside for a weekend and just doing what we have to do.”  

Like the previous five rounds of the six-round ARC, Paddon and Kennard have not contested this rally before. They’ll be using their tried and true pace-noting skills during the pre-event reconnaissance runs through each stage to learn all they can about the roads.  

“We don’t know too much about this rally yet, but it does include the longest stage of the season at 44km, so that will be a key stage of the rally in terms of managing tyre wear and strategy.”  

The PRG team also welcome a tour group travelling with them to Rally Tasmania and Paddon is looking forward to sharing the event with many Kiwi supporters.  

Rally Tasmania kicks off with a popular rally show on Friday night on the Burnie waterfront before two days of rally action through various inland roads.  

Keep up with all PRG’s news and results via the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/paddonracinggroup.   

PRG appreciates the support of their partners including Hyundai New Zealand, Caltex Havoline Oil, Mitre 10 Trade, Winmax Brake Pads, Bar’s Bugs, EROAD, Ben Nevis Station, Wipertech, Design Windows, MITO, Repco, Machinery House, King Gee, KiwiFibre, TrailLite, Hankook, Z Energy, Blaster and Signbiz.

Robbie Stokes and Shayne Reynolds have been excluded from the Battery Town Rally Bay of Plenty, the fifth round of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship, an event on which they had taken a provisional victory.

The Stokes Motorsport pairing, who were initially winners of the round, were deemed to be in breach of Article 19 of Motorsport New Zealand’s Schedule R, the articles by which rallying is governed.

“Exclusion: Crews are bound, under the pain of exclusion, to check in at all control points in the correct sequence and in the direction of the rally route. It is also prohibited to re-enter the control area.”

It was at the event's second service park where a moment of confusion saw Stokes enter the service park early, before realising the mistake and returning to the check in point to the service park a second time.

By doing so, Stokes was in breach of the above rule.

After initially being fined $250 for the infringement which saw the victory stand, a Motorsport New Zealand Judicial Hearing held last week found that the only appropriate penalty as per the Motorsport Manual was exclusion.

The result means Ben Hunt and Tony Rawstorn are now declared the winners of Round 5, Battery Town Rally Bay of Plenty, with Jack Stokes and Hayden Graves promoted to second ahead of Jack Hawkeswood and Jason Farmer up to third.

Heading to the final round this weekend, Ben Hunt now sits on 158 points, 41 clear of Robbie Stokes who retains second place, but now on 117, nine clear of Josh Marston in third.

The Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship resumes with the Vertex Oil International Rally of Whangarei on 7-9 November.