Macdonald wins Wyndham Rally and takes lead in Mainland Rally Championship

Winning the fourth and penultimate round of the 2025 Mainland Rally Championship has propelled Caleb Macdonald into the overall lead and three-points clear of Robbie Stokes. Macdonald and Australian co-driver Larisa Biggar (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo6) won four of the six Special Stages of the 2025 Barry Robinson Memorial Wyndham Rally on Saturday finishing 39.5 seconds clear of Tim Smith/Ben Trevelyan (Subaru H6) in second while Deane Buist/Karl Celeste (Toyota Trueno) finished third overall ahead of Ally Mackay/Mikko Johnston (Ford Escort Mk1).

“Very happy with the way it unfolded,” commented Macdonald. “Being a Southland Car Club member, it is a special win.

“It was quite a challenging day with very slippery conditions, and it took a while to get to grips with the rain. After the first couple of stages, we spun down the road, so I sorted myself out and was able to put it together for the last two (Stages). “

It wasn’t straight forward for Macdonald with Smith winning SS2 and leading the rally at the halfway point, while Deane Buist won SS5. Stokes, this time driving a Ford Fiesta Pronto, was always in the hunt for a podium finish but a puncture on the final stage dropped him to 16th and the rear of the MRC field.

“It’s epic to have an H6 (Subaru) going so well, they have some great pace,” said Tim Smith. “It was amazing to get a podium in an H6 car. It was a good battle all day with Caleb and congratulations to him on the win. Hopefully we will see more of these out in the future.”

Seven separate Class battles have been eagerly contested over the season.

With 20-points for a Class win, Josh Silcock/Ben Leech (Toyota Starlet) have affectively won Class A (2WD 0-1300cc), now with a 32-point lead over Mike Matheson/Gordon Legge (Toyota Vitz). It’s a similar situation in In Class B (2WD 1601cc and over) with Ian Warren/Brody Cattermole (Nissan Pulsar) first home and a 34-point lead over second placed Thomas Paul/Bridget Airey (Honda Civic). Two-points back is James McIver (Ford Escort Mk2) who was second in Class and now in a podium fight with one round remaining.
Deane Buist’s (Toyota Trueno) consistency has him 31-points ahead of Richard Gailey (BMW 320i) in Class C (2WD 1601cc and over) with the latter retiring from the event in SS3.

While a puncture in the final stage (SS6) dropped Robbie Stokes (Ford Fiesta Pronto) to 16th overall, he finished second in Class D (4WD) and retains the lead with Macdonald moving into second 11-points behind.

Hayden Shakespeare/Joshua Henderson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3) have moved 20-points clear of Nathan Fraser, in Class E, who sat out the round.

With three class wins this season, a mechanical retirement in SS4 has dented Stephen Gill’s (Ford Escort Mk2) run for the Class F (Classic 2WD) title with Paul Cross (Toyota Corolla AE86) now just two-points behind. Third home was Pat Norris (Toyota Vitz) who is also in contention for Class honours. First home was Ally Mackay (Ford Escort Mk1) gaining maximum points and the opportunity to finish on the podium.

Tim Smith/Ben Trevelyan (Subaru Impreza) continue to lead Class H6 with an eight-point lead over second place Kevin Laird.

The final round takes place at the end of September (27th) with the return of the Hanmer Rally.

The 2025 Mainland Rally Championship has the support of RDL Performance, Brita Safety Ltd, Palmside NZ Ltd, Christchurch Building and Decorating Ltd, Thomson Rust and Repair Services Ltd, Rally Drive NZ.