Take a look at some key results from our customers this weekend
Paddon adds Asia-Pacific title to championship-winning season
Hayden Paddon added a second FIA regional rally title to his already successful 2024 season by dominating the International Rally of Whangarei with Jared Hudson as co-driver aboard his i20 N Rally2.
The event, on New Zealand’s North Island, hosted a winner-take-all finale for the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, with 12 crews vying for the crown. From the start of the event the pair were unmatched at the top of the order. The duo won all 18 stages to truly dominate once again on home soil. By the end of the rally they had built a gap of nearly five minutes over their nearest rivals as they swept to the APRC title. The crown follows Hayden retaining his FIA European Rally Championship title at Rally Silesia in October to put him in the rare of position of winning FIA titles on two continents in a single year.
However, Paddon and Hudson could not claim the New Zealand Rally Championship title to add to their 2024 collection. Though they won every round of the national championship, the lost points from the events they missed proved too much of an obstacle to overcome, as they finished four points behind in the final standings.
French crew finish season with first i20 N Rally2 victory
Laurent Pellier claimed his first win at the wheel of an i20 N Rally2 at the final round of the French Gravel Rally Championship, the Rallye Terre de Vaucluse.
The win was the icing on top of a strong debut season with the car, in which he finished on the podium at all six rounds of the season. However, after a third and four second places, the 2C Competition-run driver had been frustrated in his search for victory.
That changed on the season finale, despite the entry list including the leader of the Tarmac championship among several drivers opting to join for the rally. Despite a puncture Pellier and co-driver Kévin Bronner rose to the lead over the course of the opening day, reaching the overnight halt with a 27-second lead.
Over the four stages of the second day, they managed their pace to make sure of the win. However, though they were fastest on only one test, they were still able to add 10 seconds to their margin before the end of the rally.
Charles Munster made his return to the championship in another of the one-off entries for the event. He was third overnight but dropped down the order to finish fifth.
