Backed by Central Machine Hire, and with Drivesouth continuing its long association as a major supporter, the April 4-6 event has secured 103 entries, including 21 overseas competitors. It has also attracted international media interest, with a film crew from Europe and journalists from the UK and Australia flying in for the event.
Today, Drivesouth gets into full rally mode for 2025 with our lead story on Emma Gilmour. In it, Gilmour explains to Cat Pattison why she will start the Otago Rally in a much stronger frame of mind than in 2024, and reveals the behind-the-scenes work that has gone into preparing both for this rally and the season ahead.
Gilmour’s key opponents next weekend will include last year’s Otago Rally winner Jack Hawkeswood (Toyota GR Yaris), reigning national rally champion Ben Hunt (Skoda Fabia) and Robbie Stokes, who has switched from a Ford Fiesta to Skoda Fabia for this year.
I’m anticipating a tight battle between this quartet.
Close as that battle for outright victory may be, it is likely to be eclipsed by that for classic rally honours, as last year’s classic winner Kris Meeke from Ireland goes head-to-head against our own Hayden Paddon.
Pitting two former stars of the WRC against each other in comparable Ford Escort RS rally cars is bound to produce plenty of excitement. My pick is that the deep local knowledge that has seen him win the Otago Rally 10 times will hand Paddon the advantage in this clash, but Meeke will make his Kiwi rival work hard for the win.
As usual, the rally opens on Friday evening, with the rally show in Dunedin’s Octagon from 5.30pm, and the ceremonial start from 6.45pm. The high-speed action starts on Saturday morning based from a hub in a service park in Middlemarch. The opening day comprises seven stages inland from Dunedin, most of which are around Strath Taieri, along with the mid-afternoon tarmac super-special in Dunedin’s wharf area. Sunday’s action will hub out of a service park at Lake Waihola and consists of eight further stages either side of the Taieri Plain, concluding with the internationally renowned Kuri Bush stage.
Come mid-afternoon next Sunday, those amongst the competing crews that have completed the event will arrive at Brighton Domain for the rally finish. For a select few drivers there will be champagne to spray in recognition of a podium result, either overall, or in one of the event’s supporting categories or classes. Others will be satisfied just to have reached the end, which is in itself a worthy achievement.
This edition of Drivesouth starts our in-depth coverage of the rally. Look out for our comprehensive rally guide (including a full spectator viewing guide with maps, a full entry list and suggested viewing points), in this Wednesday’s Otago Daily Times, as well as further preview coverage in both Drivesouth and the sports section of the Otago Daily Times next weekend, and full reports after the event.
Formula One
Finally, a few words on the ongoing saga of Liam Lawson’s future in Formula One. After several days of speculation, Yuki Tsunoda was indeed "promoted" to the Red Bull second seat for next weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, while Lawson will be "demoted" to take Tsunoda’s place at Racing Bulls. There’s plenty that could be written about Red Bull’s behaviour given they said on hiring Lawson that he would be given time to settle into the car and the team. I’ll save that for another day.
Accepting that Lawson did not deliver to the required standard in the first two Grands Prix of the year, it is clear that the 2025 Red Bull RB21 car is devilishly difficult to drive, and far from being the best car in the pack. It was very telling that Max Verstappen, when asked, said he thought Lawson would be faster in the Racing Bulls car. It’s a crying shame that no-one asked Verstappen the obvious follow-up question, which was whether or not he too would be faster in the Racing Bulls machine.
For Lawson, this could be the demotion that turns out to be a promotion. He started this season with just 11 F1 races to his name, and what he needs most of all is a decently quick and reasonably driveable car (which the Racing Bulls machine assuredly is) and a supportive team in which to gain further experience.
That’s why, some months ago when it wasn’t clear which driver Red Bull would select as Max Verstappen’s number two, I suggested on these pages that the Racing Bulls’ seat could well be the best option for Lawson’s racing career.
Having ended up where he probably should have been in the first place, it is now up to Lawson to make the best of the opportunity. Next weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, run on a circuit he knows well, is a great place to re-set and re-start.
Tsunoda too will be wanting to grab his chance, which starts at his home Grand Prix. I wish him luck, but also wonder what happens next if he struggles in the Red Bull RB21 car, just as Lawson did.
