With Hayden Paddon crossing the boundary from Classic Rally dominance to outright rally victory, the New Zealand Rally Championship drivers were left filling the spare podium spots yesterday.
Tauranga Mitsubishi Evo 9 driver Phil Campbell started the final day with a 16.4sec advantage which he extended on the morning's four stages to 30.3sec.
But a determined charge by Paddon and co driver John Kennard over the next two stages enabled them to snatch the rally win by 2.5sec.
Campbell (28) was graceful in defeat. ''If we are going to get beaten, getting beaten by a WRC driver is not the worst thing that could happen,'' he said.
The important NZRC points haul was what kept Campbell focused on finishing and not ''doing anything silly'' trying to out run Paddon.
''We did everything we could to stay ahead of him but that last stage he was just really, really fast,'' Campbell said.
He and co driver and partner Venita Fabbro are second in the championship after two rounds, seven points behind leader Ben Hunt.
Te Aroha driver Lance Williams (20) and co driver Raymond Bennett had a consistent run to claim the final podium position in their Subaru Impreza R4.
They finished the first day in third after nine special stages and maintained their position throughout the second day, which consisted of a further seven stages.
Williams said he was mindful of an overheating problem in the Subaru, which had emerged in last month's Rally of Whangarei.
Bennett was celebrating not only his second podium driving with Williams _ they were third in Whangarei last year _ but also competing in his 20th Rally of Otago. After 35 years co driving he has passed on his knowledge and experience to many drivers.
''Over the years I've mentored lots of people, including Hayden [Paddon], but Lance is something else,'' Bennett said.
Hunt's rally was affected by punctures in his Subaru Impreza, although he managed to salvage fifth place overall.
Auckland Mitsubishi Evo 9 driver Dylan Turner finished fourth and holds the same position in the championship.
American rally star Ken Block rejoined the rally for the second leg yesterday after an engine sensor issue halted his charge while leading on day one.
Block told the crowd, before he won the Anzac Ave tarmac stage on Saturday, that the mechanical issue was ''a really big bummer'' caused by a ''very tiny part''.
He and co driver Alex Gelsomino were fastest over yesterday's stages to take leg two honours in the Hoonigan Racing Division Ford Fiesta by 35sec.
Canterbury driver Matt Summerfield, who also rejoined following engine problems on the first day, finished second for leg two, and also took the five championship bonus points for winning the 15km Kuri Bush power stage.
He is third in the NZRC, 16 points behind Campbell, going into the third round in Canterbury at the end of May.
Dunedin's Emma Gilmour had a disappointingly early end to her home event.
Her Vantage Suzuki Swift Maxi got caught out going around a corner on the first stage, losing grip on some pine needles and sledging sideways into a tree and a stump, which damaged the gearbox oil cooler.
It was not possible to get the required part to Dunedin in time to make the repairs necessary to rejoin yesterday.
''The team put in such a huge effort and I'm disappointed that I haven't been able to repay them and our great team of sponsors with a result that the mighty wee Suzuki deserves,'' Gilmour said.
