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Rising Stars master treacherous Whangarei roads

Rally New Zealand Rising Stars award winners Hayden Paddon, Ben Jagger and Stephen Barker mastered the treacherous conditions thrown at them on day two of the International Rally Whangarei, following mixed results across the board from the opening day.

International award winner Paddon made the best possible start after an inspired choice to use soft compound tyres on the opening loop of stages before service. After setting three stage records out of four, Paddon opened up a 33 second lead over Indian driver Gaurav Gill.

The afternoon bought a repeat of the mornings four stages and a repeat of the results for Paddon and co-driver John Kennard extended their lead to over a minute. Such was his dominance that the only two stages the 23-year-old didn’t win were the two passes of the short spectator-friendly stage at Pohe Island.

The second day bought rain that got progressively heavier over the course of the day but for the Geraldine resident nothing could stop him as he won all but the opening stage to claim his third win at the Whangarei-based event. Paddon also claimed maximum points in both the New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC) and FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX.

“It’s been a perfect weekend everything has gone to plan, we concentrated on our own game this weekend and it all went to plan. This bodes us really well for our next event in Finland and then when we use our Evo IX next at Japan with the help of the Rising Stars International Award,” said Paddon.

The opening day was not such plain sailing for Development Award winner Ben Jagger. The 20-year-old, like Paddon, received a wildcard entry into the APRC section of the event. He and co-driver Ben Hawkins got off to the worst possible start, getting stuck off the road on the opening stage of day one and although the damage was cosmetic, the pair was unable to get their Subaru Impreza back on the road and had to retire.

The second day could not have been more different for Jagger. The Whangarei resident regained his confidence on the opening stages and after the morning was sitting eighth, topping the junior standings. With the weather taking a turn for the worse and the road conditions deteriorating accordingly, the afternoon was a case of survival and Jagger did just that, moving up to seventh on the final stage and claiming top junior points in the NZRC.

“It was a really tough weekend; our home event didn’t treat us as well as it normally does, but we were reasonably happy with today. We learnt a lot,” said Jagger.

Rising Stars Scholarship winner Stephen Barker, from Hamilton, made a strong start to the event, taking a 26.6 second lead in the Group N production two-wheel-drive class after the opening two special stages. However in the third stage Barker was caught out by a right hand corner and hit a power pole. After making a temporary fix to the steering arm on the Rising Stars Ford Fiesta, Barker limped out of the stage. However when the repair failed on the following touring stage, the 21 year-old was forced to retire.

“We got caught out on a slippery patch and hit the pole,” said Barker “It was a tricky corner; three cars went off while we were stuck there. We managed to get the car out of the stage but the temporary repair on the steering arm failed on the road section.”

Barker started the second day conservatively but, by the third stage, was setting the pace in the Group N 2WD class. As the conditions became more treacherous Barker and co-driver Richard Ellis extended their lead over rival Ben Hunt and, by the end of the day, established a margin of over two and a half minutes.

“The second day was fantastic for all three of the Rising Stars award winners,” said Rally New Zealand chairman Chris Carr. “Hayden has once again put in a near faultless drive and after unfortunate incidents on the opening day, Ben and Stephen bounced back with solid results and a strong points haul for the NZRC.”

Background information about the Rally New Zealand Rising Stars programme
Launched in 2009, the three-part Rally New Zealand Rising Stars programme aims to foster and develop the talents of young kiwi rally drivers.

The Rising Stars Scholarship provides professional mentoring and the use of a professionally-prepared Group N front-wheel-drive rally car, a package worth $50,000, to contest this class of the New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC).

The Rally New Zealand Rising Stars Development Award can be entered by competitors running Group N front-wheel-drive (N3) rally cars in the NZRC. The winner gets professional mentoring and a $50,000 support package to contest the N4, or four-wheel-drive production car, class of the following year’s NZRC.

The Rally New Zealand Rising Stars International Award can be entered by competitors running Group N four-wheel-drive (N4) cars in the NZRC. The winner gets professional mentoring and a $50,000 package to contest an overseas WRC, APRC or Pirelli Star Driver final event the following year.