Bawden wins, Palmer extends lead in North Island Rally Series

Todd Bawden/Katrina Renshaw (Ford Fiesta MkII R5) have won the latest round of the 2025 Hawkeswood Mining North Island Rally Series (NIRS), beating home Quentin Palmer/Michael Goudie (Skoda Fabia Rally2) with William Menzies/Doug Dolan putting in another solid performance in their much older car (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) coming in third. The one-day Dayle ITM Goldrush Rally of Coromandel also doubled as the fourth round of the Brian Green Property Group NZ Rally Championship with some intense competition for overall and NIRS honours.

“Really pleased with the result,” commented Bawden. “It’s been good to be back in the car after 12 months. The roads were fantastic and held up well. Other than a couple of minor issues with the car it has been good and I was pleased with our speed.”

Palmer was the quickest NIRS competitor over the opening two stages with Bawden winning the next four.

“We had a good fight with Quentin (Palmer),” said Bawden. “We lost a bit of power in the final two stages, so he was quicker than we were and won those two. It was good to see such close times between a number of us across the whole day.”

Palmer retains the overall lead in the Series with Menzies moving into second while Ben Huband drops to third after retiring out of the event with electrical problems.

In the Class results, a standout debut rally from rookie Marc Milner in his 1600c Toyota Starlet sits first equal with Mike Goldsbury in Class B. John Whooley (Honda Civic) retired with drive line issues but still has a 20-point advantage over Adrian Sutton (Nissan Pulsar) who was first in Class C (2WD 1601-2000).

Jeff Torkington (Toyota MR2) has a one-point lead over Chris Ramsay (Toyota Corolla APR2) although it was Daniel Haines (Ford Escort) that was first home in Class D ahead of Brent Taylor (Toyota 86).

In the Classic Class E, young Kyle Percival (Ford Escort Mk2) has a 45-point lead over Mike Vincent (Hillman Avenger).

Palmer continues to lead Class F (4WD 1601-2000) over Bawden while Ben Huband’s (Subaru Impreza) retirement has seen him drop 17-points behind Menzies in Class G (4WD 2001 and over).

The see-sawing battle in Class I (4WD Pre 1996) finds Chris Burke (Toyota Celica) jump seven-points ahead of Bradley Stewart (Subaru Impreza).

Both drivers and teams take a short break before the penultimate fourth round on 21 September 2025 at the Newstead Lodge Rally of Waitomo based in Piopio.