Rally New Zealand has accepted the first official entry for this year’s World Rally Championship event in May from two-time New Zealand rally champion Hayden Paddon.

Based in Auckland, Rally New Zealand takes place from 6 to 9 May with the rally route taking in a variety of roads north and south of Auckland to create a much-loved, world-class event.

“We’re absolutely delighted to have Hayden Paddon confirm his entry for Rally New Zealand,” says Paul Mallard, general manager of Rally New Zealand. “Hayden is poised on the brink of an exciting international career this year and it’s fantastic he will be in New Zealand to contest our event as part of his global competition aspirations.”

Paddon, from Geraldine, and his Blenheim-based co-driver John Kennard will be competing in Rally New Zealand as part of Paddon’s Production World Rally Championship campaign. The 22-year-old driver contests six world rallies in this campaign, four of which overlap with the Pirelli Star Driver programme that Paddon won during a shootout at Rally Australia last year.

The Targa Bambina is the launch pad for three Targa events in 2010. With 260 Klms over 16 tarmac rally stages there are also 394 klms of touring stages throughout the Franklin and North Waikato Districts in the Bambina. There are good entries in both categories; Targa Bambina and Targa Tour.

Targa event dates are:

• Targa Bambina (Papakura based) 2 day event 13-14 March
• Targa Rotorua 2 day event 05-06 June
• Dunlop Targa 6 day main event 25-31 October
  

Event Director Peter Martin said: "We have a new sponsor in Rock FM coming on board - Targa is, the demographics of their target market. Talking target markets, what is also interesting is that Parkside Media report increased sales of their Classic Car magazine since Targa returned to the magazine. We have also produced a promotional DVD that will be used to attract international drivers either in their vehicles or leasing one of ours."

Top Gear Live, ASB Showgrounds, Greenlane NZ.  19-21st February 2010.

Friday-

The Top Gear Live Festival was the first of it’s kind, a fully custom built racetrack designed by Greg Murphy.  With many different types of racing and automotive entertainment taking place outside of the Top Gear Live Show, it was looking to be a promising event.  Friday morning we had a couple of test runs on the technical 2nd and 3rd gear course, drifting the whole track.  While the drifters sussed out the course quickly, the concrete barriers claimed a few other cars, mainly the classic v8 muscle cars who were getting a bit too eager with the loud pedal.  The Crowd response was enormous in the afternoon, with gobs of people flocking to the stands every time we came out.

With the next crop of talented young Kiwi drivers enjoying the benefits of winning one of the sectors of Rally New Zealand’s three-part Rising Stars driver development programme, a few changes have been made to the programme for 2010 applicants.

“We’re extremely happy with the way our young drivers have embraced the opportunities available via a scholarship system like Rising Stars, and our 2009 winners highlight the rallying talent in New Zealand,” says Rally New Zealand chairman Chris Carr.

“We have Hayden Paddon, from Geraldine, using his International Award to help top up his Pirelli Star Driver programme and therefore complete a full Production World Rally Championship schedule this season.

“Development Award winner Ben Jagger, from Whangarei, is using his Development Award funding and mentoring to step up to the Group N four-wheel-drive class in the New Zealand Rally Championship after winning the national two-wheel-drive rally title in just his second full year in rallying.