Cromwell-based Hayden Paddon sealed the Asia Pacific championship with his ninth win at the International Rally of Whangarei, while Dunedin driver Emma Gilmour capped a fine season by finishing third in the New Zealand championship.
Paddon first won the Asia Pacific title in 2022 with co-driver John Kennard in his Hyundai i20 AP4, and was joined by Jared Hudson this year.
He is now in the unique position of holding two FIA rally championship titles at the same time, having secured his second European Rally Championship with Kennard in Poland in October.
"It’s awesome to win again in Whangarei, which is never easy, as well as securing this year’s FIA APRC title," Paddon said.
"To win two FIA titles in one year — when there are only six FIA regional championships globally — is probably more than we expected at the start of the season. We’re now the first team to have ticked off this achievement, so that’s pretty special for everyone involved."
Dry, early summer conditions around Whangarei at the weekend added challenges in terms of dust and tyre wear when competitors have been used to a late autumn date and road conditions for many years.
Paddon and Hudson won all of Saturday’s eight stages to take a solid lead of 2min 38sec over two-time New Zealand rally champion Ben Hunt.
They continued in the same manner on Sunday, winning every special stage to extend the final margin over Hunt to 4min 42sec.
Despite having won every special stage and every possible power stage point for the five NZRC events Paddon contested, the fact he missed the opening round in Otago gave Hunt the four-point margin he required to claim the 2024 NZRC title.
"We did everything we could to win the NZ championship, but we can’t be disappointed," Paddon said.
"We won every NZRC rally we entered and got every point we could but, being a round down, it always going to be a challenge."
She and co-driver Malcolm Read finished the 260km Whangarei rally in fourth place, good enough to seal third in the championship in her WRC2 C3 rally car.
"I am so stoked to get third in the championship," Gilmour said.
"It’s been amazing having Malcolm on the pace notes and awesome having the Paddon Rallysport team running the car, with mechanic Ollie Talbott doing a stellar job keeping the C3 running faultlessly all season.
"This is the first time I’ve completed a championship in a long time and I’m very happy to cap off a great weekend on the podium for the season."
The last time Gilmour finished on the championship podium was 2012, when she was runner-up for the third consecutive year.
She had an early spin on Saturday, but quickly regained ground and went on to finish seven of the day’s 10 stages in the top five.
Her bid for a championship podium became more secure when Zeal Jones, with whom she was tied in fourth place on points before the weekend, slid off the road on the second stage.
The third-placed driver entering the event, Robbie Stokes, then crashed on the third stage, retiring for the remainder of the rally.
A third-place finish for Gilmour on the first day meant she needed to keep the C3 steady over Sunday’s eight stages, but also keep driving at full pace to fight for her spot on the podium.
She and Read clocked seventh-fastest times in the opening two stages before they went for it, finishing in the top five for the final five stages. — APL
