Thomson debuts new Skoda and wins Westland Rally

Debuting the ex-Ben Hunt NZ Championship winning Skoda Fabia Rally 2 for their first outing has proved a success with Dylan Thomson and co-driver Richard Fairhall winning the Westland Rally on Saturday. The pairing finished the opening round of the Mainland Rally Championship (MRC) 1min 20.3 seconds ahead of James McIvor/Matthew Wright (Subaru Impreza H6) with Deane Buist/Karl Celeste (Toyota Trueno) 15 seconds further back in third.

“That was pretty awesome,” commented Thomson. “I drove the car for the first time yesterday and took it round the block before loading it onto the trailer and then today heading to the start of the first Special Stage, so it is brand new to us.”

Thomson won nine of the ten Special Stages run over challenging tight and twisting public roads in the Grey and Westland Districts, while Buist was fastest in SS9 (Mitchells 2).

“Yes, we got caught out a bit in Mitchells 2 as I thought we had a puncture so toured through it,” said Thomson.

“It is incredible to drive. Being a blind rally (no pace notes), if you went into a corner too ‘hot’ or ‘cold’ you could still manoeuvre it mid-corner. We were able to build our confidence over the day and will head to the next round, the Otago Rally, not necessarily super confident but not scared of the car or stressing. It will be different with (pace) notes.”

Second home was James McIvor making his first run in the Westland Rally as a driver.

“That was a very good day so pretty stoked,” said McIvor. “The conditions were great, the roads were phenomenal and the selection of stages was exceptional – fast and flowing, twisty and a good mix. I co-drove for Dad in 2023 so new it would be pretty good.”

Seven separate MRC Class titles for both drivers and co-drivers are being contested over the six-round season.

Marike Balzarini/Mauro Balzarini (Toyota Starlet) took out the Class A (2WD 0-1300cc) category and finished 25th overall.

Josh Silcock/Ben Leech (Ford Fiesta R2) beat home Kerry Sloan/Henry Raymond in Class B (2WD 1301-1600cc).

Deane Buist’s fight with Andrew Sim (Ford Escort Mk2) for a podium was also reflected in the Class C (2WD 1601cc and over) category.

Even though 25% of the field were entered in Class D (4WD), Thomson was always going to be difficult to beat. Second in Class was Harri Silcock with Sean Haggarty/Jono Taylor debuting a new Suzuki Subuki home in third.

Nigel King/Brayden King (Mitsubishi Lancer) won Class E (Pre 2000 4WD) while in Class F (2WD Classic), Graham Ferguson/Ross Moody (Ford Escort Mk2) beat home Tim McIver/Justin Wolff (Ford Escort Mk2) and Ally Mackay/Mikko Johnston (Ford Escort Mk1) in third.

As well as finishing second overall, James McIvor won the popular Class H (Subaru H6) from Thomas Paul/Bridget Airey (Subaru Impreza H6) and James Macdonald/Tim Macdonald (Subaru Impreza H6)

Overall and Class results for the Mainland Rally Championship will be uploaded onto chrissport.co.nz this week.

The second round takes place on Day 1 of the Otago Rally in just two weeks’ time (Sat 11 April 2026).

The 2026 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.