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Australia & New Zealand 2026 Championships

saco0o

saco0o

Active member
For the Aussies:
1 Queensland 17-19 April
2 Western Australia 22-24 May
3 New South Wales 26-28 June
4 Tasmania 14-16 August
5 South Australia 2-4 October
6 Victoria 20-22 November

For the Kiwis:
1 Otago 10-12 April
2 Canterbury 31 May
3 Southland 18 July
4 Hawke's Bay 22 August
5 Whangarei 25-26 September
6 Bay of Plenty 31 October
 
Zeal Jones posted a few days ago: "@tgr_nz @rallyracegroup "GR Yaris Cup" Launch event earlier this week. Excited to see what this brings to New Zealand come 2027 when the championship begins. Huge testament to my learnings in the past year are down to what the GR Yaris can teach you as a driver to maximise stage times and ultimately rally wins."

Be interesting to see how well this goes for NZ Rallying.

GR Yaris Rally Cup NZ (nz$170K inc gst, less than an AP4 or Rally2, more than the front wheel drive Ford Fiesta (used from Europe)


https://youtu.be/sqNF7sTN4jo?si=5GVkVfM5SIVmeba8
 
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Toby Price to drive Toyota GR Yaris Force Motorsport Kiwispec at the 50th anniversary Otago Rally.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DUCqDJ6EV62/

The Possum Bourne Memorial Rally held on the 21st March, 2026 in the West Waikato area that has previously been used for WRC events.

1 J Hawkeswood GR Yaris AP4 - 1 hour 26 minutes
2 Q Palmer Skoda Fabia Rally2 EVO 39 seconds
3 A Hawkeswood 4min 13 down
4 M Grimmer Mazda 323 4WD 5 min 37 down

Current NZ Rally Champion Ben Hunt was driving a zero car - the ex Bourne (Kangas, K Eriksson, A McRae, E Gilmour) WRC Subaru.
https://youtu.be/gKKQX7XaI58?si=doKaZv-d7CqSCYgt

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Dylan and Bayden Thomson's entry for NZRC '26 in Ben's championship winning Fabia EVO Rally2.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DWQB5ScEi72/
 
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The passing of Morris David (Morrie) Chandler: 1940-2026 has been noted.

A former Vice-President for Sport with the FIA.

https://speedcafe.com/motorsport-ne...-new-zealand-statement-comments-reaction-fia/

President of MANZ/ Motorsport New Zealand from 1977 to 1998
Added to the MSNZ Wall of Fame (1998)

A long time rally competitor from the early 1970s to the mid-1990s. Drove makes from Skodas to Mazdas though Mitsubishi cars were the preferred brand.

Morrie was a fairly key component in introducing and retaining the World Rally Championship Rally in New Zealand, especially after the skip years of 1981 and 1996.

https://nzrallychamps.co.nz/rallying-legend-morrie-chandler-passes-away/
 
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Week of the Central Machine Hire Otago Rally. Could be 140 cars to start, depending on what happens.

The Classic rally section is headlined by Meeke (Escort), Buist (Escort), Ostberg (RX3), and Hagstrom (Porsche 911 Carrera RS)

Results - stage etc on chrissport nz

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Shakedown - Ostberg, Meeke, Dalton, Hagstrom, J Hawkeswood

Dalton's new Escort Mark 2 plus. 2.5 litre KGP - KGP Engineering (Kevin Gallagher ) Letterkenny, Ireland. Holinger 6 speed sequential, Atlas diff, Group 4 parts, 4 way Reigers, Motec ECU, Oisin McLaughlin assembled - MCL M-Sport (Tamborine, Queensland, Australia)

https://youtu.be/vNlII97buwg?si=Rx1nnqiHYGxrp7Vt

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Colin Clark with Ally Mackay - the analyst.

20 – The Numbers Game!

https://youtu.be/ebdmGdbojyA?si=US8jJyFJ5HVxG8ju

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After Day 1 - Jack Stokes - Skoda 2. Alex Rullo (Aus) Hyundai Rally 2 3. Emma Gilmour (Citroen) (Problems for Robbie Stokes, Jack Hawkeswood and Dylan Thomson) Pettigrew impressed in Porsche. Meeke fastest in the classics as expected. ( Mads Ostberg - mechanical in the RX3). (Windy with dry , dusty roads)
 
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ARC - Australian Round 1 2026 - Queensland (Based around Gympie)

Day 1 - H Bates 2 S Pedder 3 L Bates 4 J Long

Harry Bates was in front for the day. Harry won 4 stages and nearly a fifth with Pedder. Lewis Bates won the street stage both times it was run and won the power stage.

Jackson Long - young driver in a Fabia did well for 4th.

Sundays run - has 2 stage live streams 9.35 am (Queensland time) and 2pm (Queensland time)

Harry Bates won the 2nd heat.

Harry won 6 stages including the power stage. Scott Pedder was fastest on one stage.

Next round in WA in the third week of May.
 
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Canterbury Rally 31st May, 2026 Round 2 of NZRC 2026.

https://canterburyrally.nz/ (spectator guide and info)

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Forest Rally on in Western Australia this weekend. (ARC round 2)

Heat 1 - Harry Bates lead into the last stage but had a puncture, that was changed causing delay (position 6)
1 Scott Pedder 2 Lewis Bates 3 A Rullo

Heat 2 - Scott Pedder punctured on the penultimate stage 11 (front right).

1 Harry Bates 2 Lewis Bates +16.9 seconds 3 Scott Pedder +1 min 45.3 sec 6th Tom Kristensson +5min 58 sec
 
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NZRC - Round 2 Canterbury - after 5 of the 9 stages.

1. Jack Stokes 10.3 seconds in front of 2. Jack Hawkeswood 3. Palmer at 1 minute 7.2 4. Pettigrew at 1 minute 16 5. Hunt at 1 minute 45.4

Jack Stokes lost the front bumper. Robbie Stokes went off. Quite dusty in the forest.

At the end

1. J Hawkeswood 2. Jack Stokes 3. Palmer and 4. Pettigrew 5. Hunt

Hawkeswood got ahead on the last forest stage in the dust Stage 8 and held on over stage nine to win by 0.2 seconds.

Pettigrew got ahead of Palmer at the end of stage 6, but Palmer came back on stage 9 to take 3rd by 3 seconds.

Hunt was fastest on the stage 9 race circuit stage.
 
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Australian Rally Championship 27/28 June 2026 Narooma Forest Rally, New South Wales. Mildly dusty conditions and gravel road sweeping required.

Heat 1. Harry Bates 7.9 seconds 2. Scott Pedder 23.5 seconds 3. Lewis Bates

Heat 2. Running order was Lewis Bates, Harry Bates and Scott Pedder. Day 2 was mainly twisty and dusty gravel through forest. 6 stages (3 x2) Heat 2 was a tough battle between Harry Bates and Scott Pedder. Harry Bates won stages 7, 8, 9 by only narrow margins on old man Pedder (50). Pedder won stage 10 to reduce the gap to 4.3 seconds from Harry Bates' lead. Harry Bates added more weight to the right foot for stage 11 (Harry won) to be 7.8 seconds ahead of Pedder going into the final King Cobra stage 12. (Power Stage). Lewis Bates won the Power stage 12, 3 seconds quicker than Harry. Harry 5.8 seconds quicker than Pedder.

End order heat 2 1. Harry Bates gap 13.6 seconds 2. Scott Pedder 25.7 seconds in front of 3. Lewis Bates.
 
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