Hayden Paddon (Hyundai i20N Rally2) has blitzed the NZRC field to take a 1:59.8 lead over team mate Ari Pettigrew going into day 2, held South of Dunedin tomorrow. Pettigrew (Holden Barina AP4) is a further 48 seconds ahead of Ben Hunt (Skoda Fabia Rally2), with Emma Gilmour holding a respective 4th place in her first outing in her new PRG run Citroen C3. Jack Hawkeswood rounds out the top 5 in his Toyota GR Yaris. The same teams hold the top 5 positions in the APRC event.
The NZRC 2wd class is lead by Jackson Clendon, pedaling his Ford Fiesta 0:53.4 ahead of Dylan Thomson in his Fiesta ST150. Third in class goes to Bryn Jones, in his Fiesta R2.
The Historic field is lead by seasoned wheelman John Silcock, who is also fourth in the Otago Classic Rally (4:03.5 behind leader Mikko Hirvonen), and holds a handy 50.2 second lead over nearest rival Tim McIver in his Mk2 Escort BDA. Stewart Reid holds third in class alongside new up-and-coming co-driver Bella Haggarty, 1:06.9 further behind McIver.
Open 2wd is held by the ever-impressive Daniel Haines in his Escort Mk2, followed by the RS2000 Escort of Glenn Alcorn.
Outside of the NZRC, the Otago Classic 2wd Rally is held by Finnish Superstar, and 15 time WRC Rally Winner Mikko Hirvonen in the Rossendale Escort, who, after briefly losing the lead to second place Deane Buist has opened up a 30 second lead over the fellow Escort RS1800 driver. Rounding out the top 3, and also in an RS1800, is Jeff Judd, a further 2:39.2 behind Buist. NZRC Classic 2wd front-runners John Silcock and Tim McIver hold fourth and fifth.
The Otago Classic 4wd Rally has been lead from Stage One by top seed Tim Smith, in an Imprezza H6. He has a 1:01.2 buffer to Dunedin's Tom Bond, in an RS Legacy, with Paul Cross, James Macdonald and Nick Marston round out the top 5, all in H6 Imprezzas.
Marcus van Klink leads the Allcomers contingent, after his nearest rival Michael Tall ran into trouble on the Danseys Pass test with a blown Turbo while leading. Jeff Ward and Bruce Herbert round out the top 3 Allcomers.
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