Service E – Pohe Island
14 May 2023
Weather: Clear weather – shower patches
Road conditions: Drying – firm
1 Hayden Paddon/John Kennard Hyundai – i20n Rally 2
Win eight, it means we’ve got a couple more to get to ten so we’ll keep working on that. Kept it clean all weekend while we’ve been trying a few things. That always puts the pressure on as there is a lot to lose in these sorts of situations and we know we have to get the points. We ticked all the boxes, got the points so we can’t ask for more. It is a fine line between pushing on at a reasonable pace but not taking any risks, so we take away the risk element and push on. We wanted to go for the record on the last stage so was good to get that – so very successful.
4 Ben Hunt/Tony Rawstorn – Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo
There were a lot of casualties this weekend but we had a ball on these roads – they are just fantastic and probably this is the most favourite event we do every year. The roads have such a good flow. The car ran perfectly apart from a couple a stages yesterday afternoon. Now it’s back to work.
5 Raana Horan/Michael Connor – Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo
We are very happy. It has turned out well – a bit of luck, but driven well. We enjoyed it. We were still going pretty hard – you go worse if you back off plus I wanted to get it right.
Service D – Pohe Island
14 May 2023
Weather: Clear, fog patches
Road conditions: Damp
1 Hayden Paddon/John Kennard Hyundai – i20n Rally 2
Today the roads are more damp than yesterday – but nice conditions, nice stages, nice flow, good gravel, slippery and loose. Good fun. Just trying to keep it clean and trying a few setups so I struggled with that to keep it smooth as I seemed to be sliding a lot. We’ll try something different this afternoon and see if I can learn something else.
2 Shane van Gisbergen/Glen Weston – Audi S1 AP4
Off the road in SS12.
3 Ari Pettigrew/Jason Farmer – Holden Barina AP4
Mechanical failure on the way to SS14.
4 Ben Hunt/Tony Rawstorn – Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo
We had a good morning – the car is going awesome. We like being back on the case – and using six tyres gave us a lot more lateral grip. Having fun – the roads are epic and we’re having fun.
5 Raana Horan/Michael Connor – Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo
I’m alright – just don’t have my mojo. It’s a repeat of yesterday in that regard where I didn’t have it in the morning but I might have it for the afternoon. There are a few who’ve gone off the road there so we might as well hang in there for third and play a safe game.
6 Robbie Stokes/Dave Neill – Ford Fiesta AP4
Retired in SS1 with over-heating issue.
7 Jack Hawkeswood/Malcolm Peden – Toyota GR Yaris
Stopped in SS12 with broken driveshaft.
8 Todd Bawden/Katrina Renshaw – Ford Fiesta R5 MkII
Off the road in SS14.
9 Mike Young/Amy Hudson – Toyota C-HR
Bit of attrition in that last stage. For us it was low grip and I didn’t have the confidence. It was nice to get to the finish of the stage. We did take a slightly harder tyre – which should work better for the repeat loop where the roads are more swept. The sun is out so it’s drying out and should be good.
Service B – Pohe Island
13 May 2023
Weather: Mainly fine with occasional showers. Calm 15degC
Road conditions: Damp patches
1 Hayden Paddon/John Kennard Hyundai – i20n Rally 2
The road wasn’t as dry as we expected with the rain that passed through so they weren’t quite at the condition to go for a record so we just kept it smooth tidy and just do what we have to do. It is about collecting points, making sure we got the power stage, bonus points – that’s the strategy again tomorrow. When we are missing a round it is important we get as many as we can.
2 Shane van Gisbergen/Glen Weston – Audi S1 AP4
Will only contest the Pohe stage: For us we’ll check the car is running right and go again tomorrow.
4 Ben Hunt/Tony Rawstorn – Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo
The car went awesome. The pop-off valve didn’t play up. Rana had really good afternoon and pulled time on us in every stage so I’m a bit gutted about that. It might come down to tyres. The car is going awesome and we are pushing.
5 Raana Horan/Michael Connor – Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo
I seem to be putting it together this afternoon – but I’ve got a big deficit so have to make up ground. To be honest I’m not trying to do anything – just have a good time and that is equalling faster so maybe I should do that all the time.
7 Jack Hawkeswood/Malcolm Peden – Toyota GR Yaris
Still just lacking a bit of confidence on these roads up here. The surface is a bit different to what I’m used to in past years so we’ll make some changes tonight and start fresh again tomorrow. We’ve had a few more gremlins show up but we’ll work through those and get the boys to sort them out.
8 Todd Bawden/Katrina Renshaw – Ford Fiesta R5 MkII
Much better. Good tyres and good grip. Straight away I knew we had it hooked up and it was just great. We knew we made a mistake this morning with the compound tyre and this afternoon we were out of the gate. Getting our first bonus point – that’s pretty good.
9 Mike Young/Amy Hudson – Toyota C-HR
It was a lot better. Conditions were drier for the first two stages then a shower of rain came through. The car is feeling better and I had more confidence – even though I had a spin in the last stage under braking downhill. The rear get so light it just came round on me. We lost a bit of time after service but the car is feeling good.
12 Josh Marston/Andrew Graves – Holden Barina AP4
We weren’t really on the right tyres so dropped a bit of time. It didn’t really work but had fun. Really happy with the pace this morning despite spinning on stage two. Excited.
15 Jeff Ward/Matt Hayward – Subaru WRX
It has been pretty good out there. Had a puncture but other than that it’s been good fun – awesome. A few laughs. It’s always about the finish though.
Service A – Pohe Island
13 May 2023
Weather: Fine and calm 14degC
Road conditions: Dry
1 Hayden Paddon/John Kennard Hyundai – i20n Rally 2
Didn’t make the right tyre choice. I went with more of a mud tyre thinking it was going to be a lot more wet than it was and it was pretty much dry. The tyres weren’t the best and wearing out and the last stage was a bit hairy and I was just trying to hang on really.
There is more in it and we’re trying setup changes in every stage as well so with the right tyre for this afternoon the car should feel a lot better and we’ll see if we can tune it up from there.
2 Shane van Gisbergen/Glen Weston – Audi S1 AP4
Retired on the way to SS1 with electrical failure. To re-join in the afternoon.
3 Ari Pettigrew/Jason Farmer – Holden Barina AP4
Off road in SS4.
4 Ben Hunt/Tony Rawstorn – Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo
Against everyone else we were going pretty well. Hayden has done 5-6 rallies this year and we’re doing our second so obviously seat time makes a difference – and has that experience of competing overseas.
We are happy with what we are doing – and pushing but the level up to Hayden is quite a bit more.
The times were good and after the first three stages we had around 15sec on Ari but unfortunately he’s gone off now. It would have been good to have Shane in there and have a battle but there has been a lot of casualty so far.
5 Raana Horan/Michael Connor – Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo
We shredded a tyre in the last stage and had to stop to change it. So that was us, lose time and now we have to make it up. Until that point we were doing alright – we weren’t unhappy and were in touch with everyone. We didn’t hit anything so I’m not sure what happened – we’ve done something. Otherwise it was a good morning.
6 Robbie Stokes/Dave Neill – Ford Fiesta AP4
Retired in SS1 with over-heating issue.
7 Jack Hawkeswood/Malcolm Peden – Toyota GR Yaris
We are lucky to be here. On the first section of the first stage we were going well and feeling really good but then must have done something or hit something as we found ourselves with a flat tyre about half-way through. We stopped to change it and lost a considerable amount of time. In the second stage we had a wiring issue so lost a few minutes finding and fixing that up. Stage three we were battling a misfire, which started coming right in the last stage. Hopefully we can go out this afternoon and crack on.
8 Todd Bawden/Katrina Renshaw – Ford Fiesta R5 MkII
Didn’t think I was going to get here. This morning we decided to run soft tyres – have a go, roll the dice and it didn’t really pay of in the way the car handled. It was a nightmare but we’re here. Now we’ll change tyres and carry on. What carnage – four stages, just unbelievable. We’ll be quick this afternoon and get to the end.
9 Mike Young/Amy Hudson – Toyota C-HR
It’s been quite challenging, got low grip and difficult under braking – I get that feeling I’m not stopping very well. I had quite a big moment in Crows Nest – got a bit carried away in a 1R, went wide and hit quite a big tree. So far it looks all we’ve bent is a control arm so it should all be okay.
Now it’s more about me adapting to the car. There is a lot of weight but it is what it is – adapt and enjoy it as much as we can.