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Tayler Burke/Supplied
Paddon and Kennard in action at the International Rally of Whangarei in the Hyundai i20 Rally 2.
Hayden Paddon and co-driver John Kennard have won the 2023 International Rally of Whangārei in their Hyundai i20N Rally 2 car, finishing three minutes and 35 seconds ahead of Ben Hunt and Tony Rawstorn (Skoda) while Rana Horan and Michael Connor finished third (Skoda).
The fourth round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) was also the final round for the sub-category Pacific Cup. Paddon’s successive point scoring reinstated him as champion.
It’s Paddon’s eighth win in Whangārei – his first came back in 2007.
“I’m really proud of our team and being able to take the Pacific Cup again – against strong competition like Ben and Rana,” Paddon said after the race.
“The event has been nice to us over the years so are honoured to make it win No 8 and we look forward to next year. It was a flawless effort from the team. The car ran perfectly, so is a credit to their performance from the workshop to the event.”
The disappointment continued for Shane van Gisbergen and co-driver Glen Weston when they went off the road on the third stage of the morning.
Competing for the experience, van Gisbergen’s day started with a spin on the opening stage before setting the second-fastest time on the second.
Following heavy rain in the week leading up to the event the rally ran as scheduled – including the city-side Pohe Island publicity stage. The event covered eight stages to the north on the Saturday and six to the south on Sunday, totalling 707.99km – 225.80km being competitive sections. Attrition was high with 21 of the 48 missing from the finish.
Returning to Whangārei’s Pūtahi Park in the Town Basin, the city’s mayor Vince Cocurullo was on hand to celebrate with the finishers. The top three also received prizemoney provided by Indian businessman and promoter Vamcy Merla. Paddon’s team was awarded $3000 for the win, $2000 for Hunt and $1000 for Horan in third.
The Ken Block Memorial trophy was awarded to Auckland’s Rana Horan – for outstanding sportsman like attitude and performance.
“Awesome. It’s off the hook. Unreal,” Horan said after the award was announced. “Ken Block is a legend – I was thinking what did I do to deserve this, so am blown away. It really means a lot and I’m so grateful to Rally New Zealand for putting this together.”
The title deciding final round of the APRC will be held at Indonesia’s Danau Toba Rally – 24 to 26 November.
AT A GLANCE
2023 International Rally of Whangārei (provisional)
1 Hayden Paddon/John Kennard – Hyundai i20n Rally 2 2:04:03.0
2 Ben Hunt/Tony Rawstorn – Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo +3:35.6
3 Raana Horan/Michael Connor – Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo +1:08.4
4 Josh Marston/Andrew Graves – Holden Barina AP4 +6:54.8
5 Zeal Jones/Matt Sayers – Subaru Impreza +3:00.0
6 Dylan Thomson/Bayden Thomson – Ford Fiesta Rally 4 +0:00.5
7 Jackson Clendon/Tania Cresswell – Ford Fiesta Rally 4 +0:35.3
8 Jordan Grant/Glenn Goldring – Suzuki Swift Sport +3:12.4
9 Bryn Jones/Sean Lockyear – Ford Fiesta Rally 4 +0:20.4
10 Mike Young/Amy Hudson – Toyota C-HR +0:16.6
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