Meeke participated in the Otago Rally, which takes place around the city of Dunedin on the South Island of New Zealand. The Northern Irishman drove a Ford Escort RS 1800 in the historic class. Naturally, his pace wasn’t quite enough to compete with the modern cars, but Meeke enjoyed himself to the fullest.
“Like a kid in a candy shop!” Meeke exclaimed on Instagram.
Meeke’s speed eventually secured him seventh place in the overall competition. He finished a good seven minutes behind the winner, Jack Hawkeswood. Driving a Toyota GR Yaris AP4, Hawkeswood narrowly edged out Robbie Stokes, who competed in a Ford, by just 17.8 seconds after 16 special stages.
23-year-old Hawkeswood has emerged as New Zealand’s new rally hope. The victory was the young man’s first in a major rally. The Otago Rally is part of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC). The other two rallies in the series are the Montre Rally in Japan in June and the Rally of Whangarei in New Zealand in the fall.
New Zealand’s brightest rally star, Hayden Paddon, was unable to defend his victory at last year’s Otago Rally, as he is currently competing in the ongoing European Rally Championship event in Hungary.
However, Meeke was awarded the victory in the Otago Rally’s Classic series. Mikko Hirvonen accomplished the same feat last year with a similar car. Previous winners of the Otago Classic Rally also include Markko Märtin, Pasi Hagström, and Jimmy McRae, placing Meeke in distinguished company.
