Hayden Paddon (right) and Jared Hudson delivered a calculated drive to win the 2024 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship at the International Rally of Whangarei at the weekend. Photo / Geoff Ridder
Hayden Paddon (right) and Jared Hudson delivered a calculated drive to win the 2024 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship at the International Rally of Whangarei at the weekend. Photo / Geoff Ridder
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New Zealand rally duo Hayden Paddon and co-driver Jared Hudson have claimed the 2024 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) title after winning the International Rally of Whangārei at the weekend.
heir victory marks the second time 37-year-old Paddon has claimed the prestigious international APRC title, following on from his recent win in the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) in October.
Driving a Hyundai i20N Rally2 car, the pair set the fastest times on all 18 special stages of the event, which covered rural roads of Northland. Kiwi pair Ben Hunt and Tony Rawstorn (Škoda Fabia Rally2) finished in second place, with Emma Gilmour and Malcolm Read (Citroën C3 Rally2) rounding out the podium in third.
“It’s a fantastic result from a tough event,” Paddon said, reflecting on his new title.
“The dry conditions were very hard on tyres, as expected, so it was all about keeping it clean, managing our pace, and enjoying it as much as we could. A huge credit to everyone on our team – the reliability of the car and how well they have been working is second to none. I’m very proud of this result.”
2024 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship podium: (back row, from left) Tony Rawstorn, Ben Hunt, Jared Hudson, Hayden Paddon, Malcolm Read, Emma Gilmour (front row from left: Vicky Chandhok, chair of the APRC Working Group). Photo / Lance Hastie
Second-placed Hunt expressed his admiration for Paddon, saying, “There’s no one else I’d rather finish behind. He’s a world-class driver who’s always active in the car, whereas we only compete in five or six rallies a year. It’s an awesome result for our team. It’s been a great weekend.”
Gilmour, thrilled with her third-place finish, said, “Very, very happy. It’s been a tough event, a long event, and the heat made it even more challenging. We’ve had an awesome weekend, and finishing third in the APRC is an amazing result given the competition.”
New Zealand’s Jack Hawkeswood, along with co-driver Jason Farmer (Toyota Yaris AP4, New Zealand), claimed the Pacific Cup with Hawkeswood also claiming the Junior title. Tim and Lauren Mackersy (Ford Fiesta Rally4, New Zealand) won the two-wheel-drive title.
Jack Hawkeswood and Jason Farmer won the Pacific Cup title of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship at the weekend’s International Rally of Whangarei. Photo: Lance Hastie
Over the two-days, teams covered a total of 237 competition kilometres on Northland’s iconic cambered and flowing roads. The dry weather created a hard, fast surface, although isolated rain patches on Sunday failed to add variability.
While 11 teams representing four nationalities entered the championship decider, nine completed the event. Kiwi competitors Robbie Stokes and Ally Mackay went off the road on Saturday’s third stage, while Zeal Jones and Waverly Jones were sidelined by gearbox issues on Sunday after the 12th stage. Other retirements rejoined the rally with time penalties.
In addition to the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship title, Paddon was awarded NZ$5000 from the FIA APRC Working Group, with Hunt receiving NZ$3000 and Gilmour NZ$2000.
Paddon and Hudson will be formally presented with their title at the FIA Awards event in Kigali, Rwanda, on December 13.
Fans gathered around favourite rally drivers at a special autographs session in Whangārei's central business district on Friday night. Photo / Mike Dinsdale
Final placings – 2024 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship
