Rising stars perform at Rally Hawke’s Bay

Rally New Zealand
Media statement re Rising Stars driver development programme
6 April 2009

Rising stars perform at Rally Hawke’s Bay
Young Auckland rally driver Patrick Malley and defending New Zealand rally champion Hayden Paddon, from Geraldine, have earned the most points in the first event counting towards Rally New Zealand’s Rising Stars Development and International Awards.

The two new Rising Stars driver development programmes provide the eventual winners with expert support and funding worth $50,000 towards the drivers’ 2010 rally campaigns. Both Malley and Paddon have got their bid for the substantial support packages off to a good start.

For the Rising Stars Development and International Awards, competitors must be registered to compete in the full Vantage New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC). They nominate two NZRC events in addition to two compulsory events, June’s NAC Insurance International Rally of Whangarei and August’s Possum Bourne Memorial Rally, to collect points towards the award.

Paddon is currently the only driver registered for the Rising Stars International Award, so he made the most of the opportunity to earn maximum points in the just-completed Tomoana Warehousing Rally Hawke’s Bay. His next Rising Stars points’ scoring opportunity will be Rally Otago on 16 and 17 May, but before then the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX driver will compete in two Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) events, Rallye New Caledonia this coming weekend 11 and 12 April, then Rally Queensland in May. Paddon continues his Rising Stars campaign in the third APRC round, NAC Insurance International Rally of Whangarei, starting on 5 June. The last nominated Rising Stars event for Paddon is the Possum Bourne Memorial Rally on 22 August.

A number of competitors are expected to register for the Rising Stars International Award before the next event, says Rally New Zealand’s chairman Chris Carr.

“Several competitors have used the Hawke’s Bay event as a shakedown, ensuring their own driving, their cars and teams are all performing at the desired standard,” says Carr.

“Following this first event, we now expect Rising Stars entries from Rotorua’s Sloan Cox, who is just 17 years of age and driving one of two brand-new examples of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X rally car being used in this year’s rally championship.

“And Christchurch’s Josh Marston will also be gunning for the Rising Stars International Award. Marston is a rookie in the four-wheel-drive Group N class this year.”

In the chase for the Rising Stars Development Award, Malley had competition in Hawke’s Bay from fellow Ford Fiesta driver Ben Jagger, of Whangarei. Malley was dominant, beating Jagger in all but one stage, for maximum points towards the Rising Stars Development Award. Malley also finished the event a strong seventh place overall while Jagger was tenth overall. In the New Zealand Rally Championship standings, the pair is sixth and seventh respectively.

Malley and Jagger will have more intense competition at the next NZRC round, Rally Otago, with Nelson’s Dominick Unterberger and Ben Hunt joining the bid for Rising Stars points. A third Nelson driver, Daniel Harris, is also expected to register for the Rising Stars programme prior to Otago.

Hunt is the winner of the inaugural Rally New Zealand Rising Stars Scholarship held in March, and Rally Hawke’s Bay was his first event driving the Ford Fiesta provided as part of his scholarship prize. The 20-year-old was competing in just his third event and came through the first two stages in his seeded position of 25th. A broken engine mount ended the first day of competition early, but Hunt was back into the action on day two to set several top-15 stage times and finish the event as the second-placed Ford Fiesta competitor.

Unterberger finished both days in Hawke’s Bay to take 14th place overall and ninth in the New Zealand Rally Championship standings.

To be eligible to enter the three 2009 Rising Stars programmes, which includes the Scholarship that Hunt has already won, competitors must be 26 years of age or younger on 1 January 2009. Points are awarded for each stage of the nominated rallies, three points for being first Rising Stars competitor through each stage, two points for second and one point for third.

The Development Award is specifically developed to support competitors in the N3 or production car front-wheel-drive championship, and offers the 2009 winner significant funding and expert support to run a four-wheel-drive car in Rally New Zealand and the New Zealand Rally Championship in 2010. The Rising Stars International Award provides the 2009 winner with significant funding and support to contest a major international rally in 2010.

After the final round of the New Zealand Rally Championship in Nelson, Rally New Zealand will run a one day shootout programme with the top two points’ scorers in both the Development and International Awards, plus a wildcard entry for each award, taking part. The Awards’ shootout is scheduled to take place in October this year.

ENDS

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