At the Otago rally in New Zealand, the host Hayden Padon (“Hyundai i20 N Rally2”) celebrated a convincing victory, beating the closest follower Ari Petrigeva (Holden Barina AP4) by almost four and a half minutes. Ninth place overall and first in the Classic class was won by ex-WRC pilot Miko Hirvonen.
Although Hirvonen hails from Finland, which has some of the best, if not the best, rally roads in the world, after the Otago Rally, he recognized that these were the best rally roads in the world. ”The final one Kuri Bush the stage… It was crazy. On these roads and bends it’s important to keep the car on the right side, but I ended up on the wrong side…in fifth gear. It was scary,” he begins Miko Hirvonen.
Hirvonen’s mistake Kuri Bush in the speed stage:
After the rally, Hirvonen added: “I love this rally. I love these roads. I’ve heard it before, but it’s true – these are the best roads in the world. There are not so many jumps here, but there are so many blind corners over the mountain ranges, where you can really go flat. I like it that way.”
When asked by Dirtfish how welcome Hirvonen would be back in Finland after he “confessed his love” for New Zealand’s roads, Hirvonen added with a laugh, “Then I’ll just move here.”
“The roads here are so flowing. They’re fast, but if there’s a curve and you’re on the right side, you can get so much speed. The roads are really hard too, there’s no danger of ruts. You can just enjoy the ride. The place is perfect.”
When asked if these roads could host a WRC stage, the former WRC driver admitted: “Definitely! These stages are better than the ones we used to use in the WRC.”
Padon Kuri Bush in the speed stage (average speed 125.2 km/h):
The best moments of the rally:
The best moments of the rally:
Rally results:
