News

Top drivers through to Rally’s Rising Stars shootout

The top drivers in Rally New Zealand’s two Rising Stars awards have been named after the Nelson Rally held over the weekend of 19 and 20 September.

Geraldine’s Hayden Paddon and Whangarei’s Ben Jagger were already through to the final shootout for the Rising Stars International Award and Development Award respectively based on the points the two drivers had earned during their four nominated rallies. But the second driver to go through to the shootout in each Award category all came down to the results in Nelson.

In the International Award, local driver Kieran Hall just headed off Rotorua’s Sloan Cox for the second slot, while the second Development Award shootout place was earned by another talented young Nelson driver, Ben Hunt, who scored enough points to edge out Auckland’s Patrick Malley.

Both Cox and Malley can apply for a wildcard entry to their respective award shootout, as can the other two drivers who registered for the awards – Christchurch drivers Matt Jansen and Josh Marston for the International Award, and Nelson drivers Daniel Harris and Dominick Unterberger for the Development Award.

Hunt has been the Rally New Zealand Rising Stars Scholarship holder in 2009, winning the use of a professionally-prepared Ford Fiesta and expert mentoring during a shootout weekend in March to compete in this year’s Vantage New Zealand Rally Championship, says Rally New Zealand chairman Chris Carr.

“With Ben having earned automatic entry into the Development Award shootout, we’re delighted to see him do so well and now be ready to compete in his second rally shootout in one year.

“We have been impressed with the increasing professionalism and dedication of Ben and all the Rising Stars competitors this year, but it is particularly pleasing to see our inaugural Scholarship winner do so well in his first full season of rallying,” says Carr.

The shootout weekend takes place on 21 and 22 November to determine which young drivers win the 2009 International Award, the 2009 Development Award and the 2010 Scholarship. Each category has a prize worth at least $50,000 which includes a financial contribution and professional mentoring. The International Award winner receives funding to use towards competing in an international rally in 2010, while the Development Award winner receives funding towards a 2010 national rally campaign in a four-wheel-drive Group N car. The Scholarship winner, like Hunt in 2009, receives mentoring, support and $50,000 towards the preparation and use of a two-wheel-drive Ford Fiesta in the 2010 New Zealand Rally Championship.

The Rising Stars Scholarship is currently open for entries. Contact Rally New Zealand via email, info@rallynz.org.nz, to receive an application form and entries close 2 November 2009. The 2010 Scholarship selection weekend is scheduled to run alongside the International and Development Award shootout over the weekend of 21 and 22 November in the Maramarua Forest.

How the Rally New Zealand Rising Stars driver development programme works:

• Drivers must be under 26 years of age on 1 January 2010, a member of a MotorSport New Zealand-affiliated car club and a New Zealand resident.
• Applicants for the Scholarship must not have ever registered as a competitor in the New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC).
• To enter the 2009 Development Award, drivers must have competed in the Group N N3 (front-wheel-drive production car) class in the 2009 New Zealand Rally Championship.
• To enter the 2009 International Award, drivers must have competed in the Group N N4 (four-wheel-drive production car) class in the 2009 New Zealand Rally Championship.
• In 2009 drivers have nominated two NZRC events in addition to two compulsory events in which to collect points towards either the Development or the International Award. The two compulsory events were June’s NAC Insurance International Rally of Whangarei and August’s Possum Bourne Memorial Rally.
• In 2010, the Scholarship winner will have the use of the fully-prepared Ford Fiesta for all rounds of the New Zealand Rally Championship, including Rally New Zealand.