It’s the news Kiwi rally fans have been hoping for – New Zealanders Hayden Paddon and John Kennard are returning to compete in the FIA World Rally Championship with Hyundai Motorsport in 2026!  

Paddon and Kennard have been asked to rejoin Hyundai Motorsport for a part-time programme in the 2026 WRC. The popular Kiwis are confirmed to contest the opening WRC round, Monte Carlo, running 22 to 25 January in a Hyundai i20 N Rally1 car. The other drivers running the team’s third Hyundai i20 N Rally1 have been confirmed as Dani Sordo and Esapekka Lappi.  

Paddon says, “There’s a lot of emotion – a mix of excitement, anxiety and just wanting to get going. That’s the best way to describe getting the call-up from Hyundai Motorsport to return to the World Rally Championship. It’s certainly not what we expected but we’ve never given up with all the programmes we’ve been doing over the last eight years all over the world.”  

Fresh from winning his first Australian Rally Championship in 2025 after two back-to-back European Rally Championship titles in 2023 and 2024, Paddon appreciates the significance of this opportunity where he’s expected to contest three to five WRC rounds.  

“It’s massive,” says Paddon. “A pinch yourself moment to think that eight years after we were last in the WRC, we’re going back. That’s pretty unheard of. So many people believed in us for so many years. Of course, we’re going to take this opportunity with both hands and do the best job we can and see what we can make of it.”  

He's very aware what’s expected of him. “It’s a different mindset to what it was eight or ten years ago when you’re young and ambitious and it was all about trying to win rallies and be a world champion. This time around it’s about being a team player. We have a very clear role to play to within the team and that’s in a supporting role, to collect points and be consistent. I guess we can back ourselves in what we’ve been good at doing over the past few years all over the world, and have solid experience and some wisdom to lean into. I guess that’s one of good things of being older, and we’ll try to use that to our best advantage.”  

The 2026 season will mark Paddon and Kennard’s 21st year rallying together.  

“It’s great to continue this partnership with John and it’s also great to see our loyalty to the Hyundai brand, which started 12 years ago, has helped create this opportunity,” said Paddon. 

“I’m hugely thankful to so many people to make this happen. Obviously there’s a lot of work to do in a short space of time as we head into rallies that we don’t have so much experience of and not necessarily rallies that you’d call favourites but we’ll take the opportunities we’re being given make the most of it.”  

Kennard is also excited to have this new opportunity. “I’m super happy that Hayden and I will be competing in WRC events with Hyundai Motorsport again. I’ll be working equally as hard as Hayden to make the most of the opportunities.”  

This coming weekend, Paddon is competing in a Hyundai i20 N Rally2 car in a French tarmac rally, Rallye National Hivernal du Devoluy, with UK co-driver Jack Morton alongside for the first time. The asphalt rally, in the south-east of France, is renowned as a Monte Carlo warm-up. Paddon joins Hyundai team-mate Adrien Fourmaux at the event, who’ll pilot a Rally1 car.

Two-time World Rally Champion Kalle Rovanperä’s single seater journey will begin in January in New Zealand in the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy.

In a symbolic first step, he will join the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing-supported championship to begin a transformational process that the young star hopes will take him to the top level of circuit racing.  

Speaking after confirming his retirement from rallying, the 25-year-old Finn made it clear he has his sights set on progressing towards the highest levels of single seaters, which will include Super Formula in 2026.  

“It has not been an easy choice by any means,” he explained. “I have already achieved so much in rallying and I have achieved those things at a young age.  

“It feels like the right timing to pursue my next dreams and challenges. We’ve been making some good plans to prepare the best ways possible so that I can make the most of this opportunity. I’m really looking forward to pushing myself in the world of single seater.”  

His single seater circuit racing journey will begin with Hitech in the highly-regarded Castrol Toyota FR Oceania Trophy. The 2026 championship will race over four consecutive weekends with two rounds in New Zealand’s North Island and two in the South Island, including the concluding event of the 2026 season – the 70th New Zealand Grand Prix at Highlands Motorsport Park.  

All of the championship’s circuits are highly-respected for their challenging and unforgiving characteristics and are the perfect training ground to prepare drivers for northern hemisphere campaigns. 

Rovanperä will compete in Japan’s Super Formula championship which begins in April 2026 at Motegi, just two months after his campaign in NZ concludes.  

The NZ championship will be the good opportunity for Kalle to gain more experience of circuit racing, which has been limited to races in the Porsche GT3 Cup during 2024 when he enjoyed a year out from full-time rallying after winning back-to-back World Rally Championship titles in 2022 and 2023.  

He joined Toyota and the WRC’s top level aged just 19 in 2020 and during the following three years set new standards in the sport. He became the championship’s youngest-ever podium finisher, youngest-ever rally winner and then youngest-ever world champion when he clinched his first title at Rally New Zealand the day after his 22nd birthday.  

Fans will be able to follow Kalle’s progress in the championship easily. Qualifying will be livestreamed on TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s YouTube channel. Races will also be on that channel and on SkySport domestically in New Zealand. Races will also be streamed live on the Motorsport.TV platform.

The Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship will return to Southland and Hawke’s Bay in 2026 with confirmation of the 2026 calendar.

MotorSport New Zealand has signed off on a six-round championship that sees the three South Island rounds/three North Island rounds split continue next year.

The championship will begin with the 50th running of The Central Machine Hire Otago Rally on April 10-12.

Round two is Lone Star Rally Canterbury in association with Joe's Garage on King’s Birthday Weekend (Sunday May 31), while the third round of the championship will see teams head back to Invercargill for the Barry Robinson Memorial Rally Southland on Saturday July 18.

The rally will be run by the Eastern Southland Car Club.

After a shorter mid-season break, the championship will head back to Hawke’s Bay on Saturday August 22 for the first time since 2022.

It will be an emotional return after the floods of early 2023 damaged so many roads in the region and forced the championship to have to go elsewhere in recent times.

Vertex Oil International Rally of Whangarei moves forward on the calendar next year with a September 25-27 date confirmed.

The championship will conclude at Battery Town Rally Bay of Plenty on Saturday October 31.

Championship co-ordinator Blair Bartels was relieved to finally get dates locked in.

“It is always a challenge balancing the needs of each event, with council requirements, championship needs and doing what’s best for the competitor,” Bartels said.

“I am delighted to have this calendar confirmed.

“We know it will be an exciting challenge for competitors, with the different nuances of each event providing a unique test.

“I’d like to officially welcome Southland and Hawke’s Bay and their organising teams and thank all of our existing events. In the same breath, I'd also like to thank the South Canterbury Car Club, who have been great supporters of the championship since 2018.”

2026 NZRC Calendar

April 10-12 Central Machine Hire Otago Rally

Sunday May 31 Lonestar Rally of Canterbury in association with Joe’s Garage

Saturday July 18 Barry Robinson Memorial Southland

Saturday August 22 Rally Hawke’s Bay

September 25-27 Vertex Oil International Rally of Whangarei

Saturday October 31 Battery Town Rally Bay of Plenty

Kiwi rally stars Hayden Paddon and John Kennard have done what they set out to do with their 20th season of rallying together and that’s to secure the Possum Bourne Trophy as the winners of the 2025 EROAD Australian Rally Championship at the final round in Tasmania, 8-9 November.  

Driving their Hyundai i20 Rally2, Paddon and Kennard are the second all-New Zealand pairing to win the Australian championship, following Possum Bourne and Craig Vincent who won the ARC title five times, consecutively from 1996 to 1999 and again in 2001, with Bourne also winning the title with Mark Stacey alongside in 2000 and 2002.  

At 66 years old, Kennard may well be the oldest co-driver in the world to win a national rally title.  

Having won four of the five previous ARC rounds, the Kiwis headed to the Burnie-based, two-day rally with a lead of 85 points.  

On paper, they needed to finish 12th or better to secure the championship. On the results table, Paddon and Kennard finished third overall in Tasmania. But, just getting to the finish had its ups and downs with a relatively smooth run through Saturday’s eight stages, the pair held a comfortable second place overnight, just 7.4 seconds behind rally leaders Harry Bates and Coral Taylor. Finishing Sunday’s eight stages proved a little more challenging with a broken damper on the second run through the rally’s single, longest stage – a monster 44 km – meaning they needed to nurse the Hyundai through to the stage finish. The pair kept their cool and cruised through the rally’s final stage to ensure they reached the finish as planned and wrap up their first Australian rally title.  

“We’re really happy to get the result over the line,” says Paddon. “There was a lot of pressure this weekend just to finish. Performance wasn’t really an aspect we needed to push for and it’s always a bit more nerve wracking when it’s like that. Things can happen that are outside your control, which almost did with a broken damper this afternoon and losing a bit of time as we nursed the car home. In the end, we got home in P3 which, in some ways, is almost irrelevant.  

“It’s great to bring home the result and win the championship. It’s great to do this for the whole team. Everyone’s put in a lot of work this year.  

“To put our name alongside our hero Possum Bourne feels somewhat surreal. It’s very, very cool, and something the whole team can be very proud of, especially being on the road and travelling around Australia and doing it all on what’s pretty much a shoestring budget.  

“We’ve really loved our time here in the Australian Championship: the comradery, how we’ve been welcomed, the competition levels have been really, really great. We’ve loved it, and this is a great way to finish off the season.”  

Follow Hayden Paddon and PRG team news and results via the Facebook page  

PRG appreciates the support of their partners including Hyundai New Zealand, Caltex Havoline Oil, Mitre 10 Trade, Winmax Brake Pads, Bar’s Bugs, EROAD, Ben Nevis Station, Wipertech, Design Windows, MITO, Repco, Machinery House, King Gee, KiwiFibre, TrailLite, Hankook, Z Energy, Blaster and Signbiz.

New Zealanders Hayden Paddon and John Kennard are poised to secure their first EROAD Australian Rally Championship title in Tasmania at this weekend’s final round, but the championship’s not yet in bag for the popular Kiwis.  

Having won four of the five rallies so far in their Hyundai i20 Rally2, Paddon and Kennard lead their respective drivers’ and co-drivers’ championships with 470 points, 85 points ahead of closest rivals Lewis Bates and Anthony McLoughlin.

With 100 points available to the winner of Rally Tasmania, plus a potential bonus ten points for the fastest through the power stage, the Kiwis are keeping their focus on doing what needs to be done to win the championship.  

Paddon explains, “The rally result is irrelevant, and we are not even aiming to win the rally. While on paper, it looks that we just have to finish 12th or better, this being an endurance event, means we must finish both days of the rally. This shifts the focus from performance to reliability and safety. To be honest, as a driver, that’s makes it harder. For John and me in the car, it’s about driving fast enough to keep our focus, but also minimising risks, keeping a safety margin in terms of how hard we push.”   

Rally Tasmania takes place 7 to 9 November inland of the northern town of Burnie and comprises 14 special stages and 217.02 competitive kilometres, including the championship’s single, longest stage, a monster 44 km being run twice on Sunday.  

Paddon says the team plans to run the car with a safe setup, carrying more spares, etc.  

“Too much effort has gone into this season by everyone at PRG, working away from home and literally in various workshops around the country, for us not to achieve our core goal for 2025. It would mean a lot to all of us to finish the job off, so that means putting any egos aside for a weekend and just doing what we have to do.”  

Like the previous five rounds of the six-round ARC, Paddon and Kennard have not contested this rally before. They’ll be using their tried and true pace-noting skills during the pre-event reconnaissance runs through each stage to learn all they can about the roads.  

“We don’t know too much about this rally yet, but it does include the longest stage of the season at 44km, so that will be a key stage of the rally in terms of managing tyre wear and strategy.”  

The PRG team also welcome a tour group travelling with them to Rally Tasmania and Paddon is looking forward to sharing the event with many Kiwi supporters.  

Rally Tasmania kicks off with a popular rally show on Friday night on the Burnie waterfront before two days of rally action through various inland roads.  

Keep up with all PRG’s news and results via the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/paddonracinggroup.   

PRG appreciates the support of their partners including Hyundai New Zealand, Caltex Havoline Oil, Mitre 10 Trade, Winmax Brake Pads, Bar’s Bugs, EROAD, Ben Nevis Station, Wipertech, Design Windows, MITO, Repco, Machinery House, King Gee, KiwiFibre, TrailLite, Hankook, Z Energy, Blaster and Signbiz.