New Zealand Rally Championship

The New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC) is New Zealand's leading rallying championship. A multi-event national championship has been held each year since 1975. Today the championship is held for a variety of classes based on engine capacity and further split by four or two wheel drive. The top class for a number of years has been the CAT1 class, featuring R5, NR4, and AP4 cars.

New Zealand Rally Championship

Category	Rallying
Country	New Zealand
Inaugural season	1975
Tyre suppliers	MRF Tyres
Drivers' champion	Ben Hunt
Co-Drivers' champion	Tony Rawstorn
Makes' champion	Ford Motor Company
Teams' champion	Rally4Play
Official website	nzrallychampionship.co.nz
Current season

The New Zealand Rally Championship has been a launching pad for the career of many New Zealand drivers. Rod Millen and Possum Bourne being the most notable. In the 2000s Hayden Paddon used the series as a springboard to international competition, competing in the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship before moving on to the Production, Super 2000 World Rally Championship, and World Rally Championships. Most recently Zeal Jones has used the series to gain valuable skills and experience to get a spot in the Toyota GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program.

The championship was formed around the then newly created Rally New Zealand when it joined the World Rally Championship in 1973. Since then Rally New Zealand has frequently been the starring event of the NZRC and the event is current based in Auckland. The International Rally of Whangarei and International Rally of Otago are also rounds of the NZRC as well as being rounds of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. The current 2025 championship also has events based in Canterbury, Coromandel, and Bay of Plenty regions.^[1]

2025 Calendar

The 2024 season is scheduled to be contested over six rounds in Otago, Canterbury, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, and Northland.

Round	Date	Rally	Rally headquarters	Surface	Stages	Distance
1[2]	4–6 April	International Rally of Otago	Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand	Gravel	15[3]	639.32km
2[4]	10 May	Rally South Canterbury	Timaru, Canterbury, New Zealand	Gravel
3[5]	10 June	Canterbury Rally	Rangiora, Canterbury, New Zealand	Gravel
4[5]	23 August	Rally Coromandel	Whitianga, Waikato, New Zealand	Gravel
5[6]	11 October	Rally Bay of Plenty	Tauranga, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand	Gravel
6[1]	7–9 November	Rally of Whangarei	Whangarei, Northland, New Zealand	Gravel

Champions

Source:^[7]

Drivers

Sourced from:^[8]

Year	Driver	Vehicle
1975	Rod Millen	Mazda RX-3
1976	Rod Millen	Mazda RX-3
1977	Rod Millen	Mazda RX-3
1978	Blair Robson	Ford Escort RS1800
1979	Paul Adams	Ford Escort RS1800
1980	Jim Donald	Ford Escort RS1800
1981	Jim Donald	Ford Escort RS1800
1982	Tony Teesdale	Ford Escort RS1800
1983	Malcolm Stewart	Ford Escort RS1800
1984	Tony Teesdale	Nissan 240RS
1985	Brian Stokes	Ford Escort RS
1986	Neil Allport	Mazda RX-7
1987	Tony Teesdale	MG Metro 6R4
1988	Brian Stokes	Ford Sierra 4x4
1989	Neil Allport	Mazda 323 4WD
1990	David Ayling	Mazda 323 4WD
1991	Possum Bourne	Subaru Legacy
1992	Neil Allport	Mazda 323 GTX
1993	Joe McAndrew	Subaru Legacy
1994	Joe McAndrew	Subaru Legacy
1995	Reece Jones	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
1996	Joe McAndrew	Subaru Legacy
1997	Reece Jones	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
1998	Geoff Argyle	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
1999	Geoff Argyle	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
2000	Bruce Herbert	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
2001	Bruce Herbert	Subaru Impreza WRX
2002	Bruce Herbert	Subaru Impreza WRX
2003	Bruce Herbert	Subaru Impreza WRX
2004	Chris West	Subaru Impreza WRX
2005	Richard Mason	Subaru Impreza WRX
2006	Richard Mason	Subaru Impreza WRX
2007	Sam Murray	Subaru Impreza WRX
2008	Hayden Paddon	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
2009	Hayden Paddon	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
2010	Dean Sumner	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
2011	Richard Mason	Subaru Impreza WRX
2012	Richard Mason	Subaru Impreza WRX
2013	Hayden Paddon	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
2014	Richard Mason	Subaru Impreza WRX
2015	Ben Hunt	Subaru Impreza WRX
2016	David Holder	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
2017	Andrew Hawkeswood	Mazda 2 AP4+
2018	Hayden Paddon	Hyundai i20 AP4+
2019	Ben Hunt	Subaru Impreza WRX STI
2020	No 2020 Championship
2021	Hayden Paddon	Hyundai i20 AP4+
2022[8]	Hayden Paddon	Hyundai i20 AP4+
2023[8]	Hayden Paddon	Hyundai i20 N Rally2
2024[9]	Ben Hunt	Skoda Fabia R5

Co-Drivers

Sourced from:^[8]

Year	Co-Driver	Vehicle
1987	Greg Horne	MG Metro 6R4
1988	Robert Haldane	Ford Sierra 4x4
1989	Robert Haldane	Mazda 323 4WD
1990	Robert Haldane	Mazda 323 4WD
1991	Rodger Freeth	Subaru Legacy
1992	Jim Robb	Mazda 323 GTX
1993	Robert Haldane	Subaru Legacy
1994	Robert Haldane	Subaru Legacy
1995	Leo Bult	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
1996	Robert Haldane	Subaru Legacy
1997	Leo Bult	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
1998	Alan Glen	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
1999	Rob Ryan	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
2000	Rob Ryan	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
2001	Rob Ryan	Subaru Impreza WRX
2002	Rob Ryan	Subaru Impreza WRX
2003	Rob Ryan	Subaru Impreza WRX
2004	Garry Cowan	Subaru Impreza WRX
2005	Garry Cowan	Subaru Impreza WRX
2006	Sara Randall	Subaru Impreza WRX
2007	Rob Ryan	Subaru Impreza WRX
2008	John Kennard	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
2009	John Kennard	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
2010	Paul Fallon	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
2011	Sara Mason	Subaru Impreza WRX
2012	Sara Mason	Subaru Impreza WRX
2013	John Kennard	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
2014	Sara Mason	Subaru Impreza WRX
2015	Tony Rawstorn	Subaru Impreza WRX
2016	Jason Farmer	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
2017	Jeff Cress	Mazda 2 AP4+
2018	Tony Rawstorn	Subaru Impreza WRX STI
2019	Tony Rawstorn	Subaru Impreza WRX STI
2020	No 2020 Championship
2021	John Kennard	Hyundai i20 AP4+
2022[8]	John Kennard	Hyundai i20 AP4+
2023[8]	John Kennard	Hyundai i20 Rally2
2024[9]	Tony Rawstorn	Skoda Fabia R5

2WD

Drivers

Year	Class	Driver	Vehicle
2006	Historics	Robert Murray	Mazda RX-7
2007	FIA 2WD	Mark Tapper	Ford Fiesta ST
	Historics	Eaun Fuge	Mazda RX-3
2008	FIA 2WD	Patrick Malley	Ford Fiesta ST
	Historics	Robert Wylie	Nissan 240RS
2009	FIA 2WD	Ben Jagger	Ford Fiesta ST
	Historics	Mike Cameron	Mitsubishi Lancer
2010	FIA 2WD	Stephen Barker	Ford Fiesta ST
	Historics	Regan Ross	Ford Escort
2011	FIA 2WD	Ben Hunt	Ford Fiesta ST
	Historics	Robert Wylie	Nissan 240RS
2012	FIA 2WD	Ben Hunt	Ford Fiesta ST
	Open 2WD	David Holder	Toyota Levin
	Historics	Marcus van Klink	Mazda RX-7
2013	Overall	Josh Marston	Ford Fiesta R2
	FIA 2WD	Josh Marston	Ford Fiesta R2
	Open 2WD	Hamish Anderson	Toyota Levin
	Historics	Dean Buist	Ford Escort RS1800
2014	Overall	Max Bayley	Ford Fiesta R2
	FIA 2WD	Max Bayley	Ford Fiesta R2
	Open 2WD	Hamish Anderson	Toyota Levin
	Historics	Marcus van Klink	Mazda RX-7
2015	Overall	Max Bayley	Ford Fiesta R2
	FIA 2WD	Max Bayley	Ford Fiesta R2
	Open 2WD	Not Awarded
	Historics	Marcus van Klink	Mazda RX-7
2016	Overall	Dave Strong	Honda Civic
	FIA 2WD	Max Bayley	Ford Fiesta R2
	Open 2WD	Dave Strong	Honda Civic
	Historics	Marcus van Klink	Mazda RX-7
2017	Overall	Dylan Thomson	Ford Fiesta ST
	FIA 2WD	Dylan Thomson	Ford Fiesta ST
	Open 2WD	Anthony Jones	Ford Escort
	Historics	Tony Gosling	Ford Escort
2018	Overall	Dylan Thomson	Ford Fiesta ST
	FIA 2WD	Dylan Thomson	Ford Fiesta ST
	Open 2WD	Marcus van Klink	Mazda RX-8
	Historics	John Silcock	Mazda RX-7
2019	Overall	Marcus van Klink	Mazda RX-8
	FIA 2WD	Mike Sheehan	Ford Fiesta R2
	Open 2WD	Marcus van Klink	Mazda RX-8
	Historics	Jeff Judd	Ford Escort
2020	No 2020 Championship
2021	Overall	Dylan Thomson	Ford Fiesta ST
	FIA 2WD	Dylan Thomson	Ford Fiesta ST
	Open 2WD	Ari Pettigrew	BMW 318ti
	Historics	Anthony Jones	Ford Escort
2022[8]	Overall	Dylan Thomson	Ford Fiesta ST
	FIA 2WD	Dylan Thomson	Ford Fiesta ST
	Open 2WD	Daniel Haines	Ford Escort
	Historics	John Silcock	Mazda RX-7
2023[8]	Overall	Dylan Thomson	Ford Fiesta Rally4
	FIA 2WD	Dylan Thomson	Ford Fiesta Rally4
	Open 2WD	Daniel Haines	Ford Escort
	Historics	John Silcock	Mazda RX-7
2024[9]	Overall	Dylan Thomson	Ford Fiesta Rally4
	FIA 2WD	Dylan Thomson	Ford Fiesta Rally4
	Open 2WD	William Hawes	Toyota 86
	Historics	Paul Fraser	Ford Escort

Co-drivers

Year	Class	Driver	Vehicle
2006	Historics	Deborah Kibble	Mazda RX-7
2007	FIA 2WD	Jeff Cress	Ford Fiesta ST
	Historics	Mike Gibbs	Mazda RX-3
2008	FIA 2WD	Raymond Bennett	Ford Fiesta ST
	Historics	Paul Turner	Nissan 240RS
2009	FIA 2WD	Ben Hawkins	Ford Fiesta ST
	Historics	Helen Cameron	Mitsubishi Lancer
2010	FIA 2WD	Richard Ellis	Ford Fiesta ST
	Historics	Darren Galbraith	Ford Escort
2011	FIA 2WD	Tony Rawstorn	Ford Fiesta ST
	Historics	Tim Smith	Nissan 240RS
2012	FIA 2WD	Tony Rawstorn	Ford Fiesta ST
	Open 2WD	James Holder	Toyota Levin
	Historics	Dave Neil	Mazda RX-7
2013	Overall	Venita Fabbro	Ford Fiesta R2
	FIA 2WD	Venita Fabbro	Ford Fiesta R2
	Open 2WD	Sarah Brennan	Toyota Levin
	Historics	Andrew Bullman	Ford Escort RS1800
2014	Overall	Phillip Deakin	Ford Fiesta R2
	FIA 2WD	Phillip Deakin	Ford Fiesta R2
	Open 2WD	Sarah Brennan	Toyota Levin
	Historics	Dave Neil	Mazda RX-7
2015	Overall	Donna Elder	Ford Fiesta R2
	FIA 2WD	Donna Elder	Ford Fiesta R2
	Open 2WD	Not Awarded
	Historics	Dave Neil	Mazda RX-7
2016	Overall	Bruce McKenzie	Honda Civic
	FIA 2WD	Lisa Hudson	Ford Fiesta R2
	Open 2WD	Bruce McKenzie	Honda Civic
	Historics	Dave Neil	Mazda RX-7
2017	Overall	Amy Hudson	Ford Fiesta ST
	FIA 2WD	Amy Hudson	Ford Fiesta ST
	Open 2WD	Tanya Gwynne	Ford Escort
	Historics	Blair Reid	Ford Escort
2018	Overall	Amy Hudson	Ford Fiesta ST
	FIA 2WD	Amy Hudson	Ford Fiesta ST
	Open 2WD	Dave Neil	Mazda RX-8
	Historics	Samantha Gray	Ford Escort
2019	Overall	Dave Neil	Mazda RX-8
	FIA 2WD	Glenn Goldring	Ford Fiesta R2
	Open 2WD	Dave Neil	Mazda RX-8
	Historics	Sarah Brennan	Ford Escort
2020	No 2020 Championship
2021	Overall	Amy Hudson	Ford Fiesta ST
	FIA 2WD	Amy Hudson	Ford Fiesta ST
	Open 2WD	Samantha Gray	BMW 318ti
	Historics	Zoe Jones	Ford Escort
2022[8]	Overall	Brayden Thomson	Ford Fiesta Rally4
	FIA 2WD	Brayden Thomson	Ford Fiesta Rally4
	Open 2WD	Matt Priest	Ford Escort Mk2
	Historics	Donna Elder	Mazda RX-7
2023[8]	Overall	Brayden Thomson	Ford Fiesta Rally4
	FIA 2WD	Brayden Thomson	Ford Fiesta Rally4
	Open 2WD	Matt Priest	Ford Escort Mk2
	Historics	Donna Elder	Mazda RX-7
2024[9]	Overall	Brayden Thomson	Ford Fiesta Rally4
	FIA 2WD	Brayden Thomson	Ford Fiesta Rally4
	Open 2WD	Jason Dwyer	Toyota 86
	Historics	Helen Cameron	Mitsubishi Lancer

NZ Rally Challenge Series (4WD)

Drivers

Year	Overall		4WD		2WD		Classic 4WD
	Driver	Vehicle	Driver	Vehicle	Driver	Vehicle	Driver	Vehicle
2013	Graham Featherstone	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII	Graham Featherstone	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII	David Ralph	Toyota Starlet
2014	Darren Galbraith	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI	Darren Galbraith	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI	Jeff Torkington	Toyota MR2
2015	Darren Galbraith	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI	Richard Bateman	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII	Justin Glavish	Toyota Starlet
2016	Kingsley Jones	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII	Kingsley Jones	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII	Jeff Torkington	Toyota MR2
2017	Adam Bligh	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII	Richard Bateman	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX	David Taylor	Honda Civic
2018	Grant Blackberry	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X	Grant Blackberry	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X	Marcus van Klink	Mazda RX-8	Matt Adams	Mitsubishi Galant VR-4
2019	Matt Adams	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX	Matt Adams	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX	Daniel Alexander	Toyota Starlet	Phil Collins	Audi Quattro Coupe
2020	No Championship
2021	Quentin Palmer	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI	Quentin Palmer	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI	Daniel Haines	Ford Escort Mk2	Sean Haggerty	Subaru Impreza WRX
2022[8]	Jeff Ward	Subaru Impreza	Jeff Ward	Subaru Impreza
2023[8]	Zeal Jones	Subaru Impreza	Zeal Jones	Subaru Impreza
2024[9]	Andrew Graves	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3	Andrew Graves	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3	Jared Parker	Toyota FX Corolla	Andrew Graves	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3

Junior Drivers Championship

Year	Driver	Vehicle
2016	Sloan Cox	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
2017	Dylan Thomson	Ford Fiesta MK5 ST
2018	Dylan Thomson	Ford Fiesta MK5 ST
2019	Dylan Thomson	Subaru Impreza WRX STi
2020	Not Contested
2021	Ari Pettigrew	BMW 318 Ti Compact E36
2022[8]	Ari Pettigrew	Holden Barina AP4
2023[8]	Bryn Jones	Ford Fiesta R2
2024[9]	Zeal Jones	Skoda Fabia R5

Rookie Drivers Championship

Year	Driver	Vehicle
2003	Dean Summer	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6
2004	Sam Murray	Subaru Impreza
2005	Lee-Anne Barns	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8
2006	Hayden Paddon	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8
2007	Callum McInnes	Subaru Impreza WRX
2008	Andre Meier	Subaru Impreza
2009	Matt Jansen	Subaru Impreza
2010	Regan Ross	Ford Escort
2011	Neil Marshall	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8
2012	David Holder	Toyota Levin
2013	Graham Featherstone	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7
2014	Lance Williams	Subaru Impreza WRX
2015	Richard Bateman	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8
2016	Carl Davies	Toyota Yaris
2017	Max Tregilgas	Ford Fiesta ST
2018	Eugene Creugnet	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9
2019	Ben Thomasen	Subaru Impreza
2020	No 2020 Championship
2021	Brendon Wadsworth	Ford Fiesta R2
2022[8]	John-Paul van Der Meys	Ford Fiesta ST
2023[8]	Jared Parker	Toyota Corolla
2024[9]	Carter Strang	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10

Gold Card Drivers Championship

Year	Driver	Vehicle
2024[9]	Paul Fraser	Ford Escort

Manufacturers

Year	Manufacturer
1994	Subaru
1995	Mitsubishi
1996	Subaru
1997	Mitsubishi
1998	Mitsubishi
1999	Mitsubishi
2000	Mitsubishi
2001	Mitsubishi
2002	Mitsubishi
2003	Mitsubishi
2004	Mitsubishi
2005	Subaru
2006	Subaru
2007	Subaru
2008	Mitsubishi
2009	Subaru
2010	Mitsubishi
2011	Subaru
2012	Subaru
2013	Not Contested
2014	Subaru
2015	Subaru
2016	Mitsubishi
2017	Subaru
2018	Hyundai
2019	Subaru
2020	No Championship
2021	Hyundai
2022[8]	Hyundai
2023[8]	Ford
2024[9]	Ford

Teams Cup

Year	Team	Driver / Co-Driver	Vehicle
2013	Andrew Simms Mitsubishi	Chris West Chris Cobham	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
		Josh Marston Rocky Hudson	Ford Fiesta R2
		Jeff Judd Malcolm Read	Ford Escort RS1800
2014	Team Mason	Richard Mason Sara Mason	Subaru Impreza WRX STI
		Marcus van Klink Dave Neil	Mazda RX-7
		Brent Taylor Chris Ramsay	Toyota 86
2015 - 2016	Non Contested
2017		Matt Summerfield Nicole Summerfield	Subaru Impreza WRX STI
		Darren Galbraith Rocky Hudson	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII
		Jack Williamson Brenda Williamson	Suzuki Swift
2018	Tortoise and the Hare	Jack Williamson Brenda Williamson	Subaru Impreza WRX STI R4
		Hayden Paddon John Kennard	Hyundai i20 AP4+
2019	Team LJ Hooker	Dylan Turner Malcolm Read	Audi S1 AP4+
		Dylan Thomson Amy Hudson	Subaru Impreza WRX STI
2020	No Championship
2021	Paddon Rallysport	Hayden Paddon John Kennard	Hyundai i20 AP4+
		Ari Pettigrew Samantha Gray	BMW 318ti
2022[8]	Paddon Rallysport	Hayden Paddon John Kennard	Hyundai i20 AP4+
		Ari Pettigrew Jason Farmer	Holden Barina AP4
2023[8]	Paddon Rallysport	Hayden Paddon John Kennard	Hyundai i20 N Rally2
		Ari Pettigrew Jason Farmer	Holden Barina AP4
2024[9]	Rally4Play	Dylan Thomson Bayden Thomson	Ford Fiesta Rally4
		Bryn Jones Sean Lockyear	Ford Fiesta Rally4

Multiple Winners

Drivers

Wins	Driver	Year
7	Hayden Paddon	2008–2009, 2013, 2018, 2021–2023
5	Richard Mason	2005–2006, 2011–2012, 2014
4	Bruce Herbert	2000–2003
3	Rod Millen	1975–1977
	Tony Teesdale	1982, 1984, 1987
	Neil Allport	1986, 1989, 1992
	Joe McAndrew	1993–1994, 1996
	Ben Hunt [9][8]	2015, 2019, 2024
2	Jim Donald	1980–1981
	Brian Stokes	1985, 1988
	Reece Jones	1995, 1997
	Geoff Argyle	1998–1999

Co-Drivers

Wins	Co-Driver	Year
6	Robert Haldane	1988–1990, 1993–1994, 1996
	Rob Ryan	1999–2003, 2007
	John Kennard	2008–2009, 2013, 2021–2023
4	Sara Mason	2006, 2011–2012, 2014
	Tony Rawstorn[9]	2015, 2018–2019, 2024
2	Garry Cowan	2004–2005
	Leo Bult	1995, 1997