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Paddon pulls through for second place finish in Poland

2 July, 2017

Local boy Hayden Paddon, along with new British co-driver Sebastian Marshall, secured their best finish in a WRC rally since Paddon’s win in Argentina last year. The pair finished second place in Poland behind teammates Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsou, making for Hyundai Motorsport’s first one-two finish since Germany 2014.





The team no doubt stoked with the finish after a slow start on day one saw the pair sitting 40 seconds back in tricky conditions, which would close up to a third place standing after day two, and then with Norwegian Ott Tanak crashing out after battling Neuville for first, Paddon was free to squeeze on up.


“For us, it’s a massive relief … It’s been 12 months since we were last on the podium, and this year’s been some of the hardest times of my life … this weekend has helped me lower the shoulders and relax a little bit. This gives us a bit of momentum now that we can build on to work towards future rallies.”

Paddon and Marshall will next appear in Rally Finland, kicking off July 27.
 
 

You’re the one that I want – 1973 Datsun 240K GT

21 February, 2025

In the early 1970s, Clark Caldow was a young sales rep travelling the North Island and doing big miles annually. He loved driving. In 1975 the firm he worked for asked Clark what he wanted for his new car, and Clark chose a brand-new Datsun 240K GT. The two-door car arrived, and Clark was smitten, or in his own words, he was “pole vaulting.”
Clark drove it all over the country, racking up thousands of miles. “It had quite a bit of pep with its SOHC 128 hp (96kW) of power mated to a four-speed manual gearbox,” he says. Weighing in at 1240kg meant the power to weight ratio was good for the time and its length at almost 4.5 metres meant it had good street presence.
Clark has been a car enthusiast all his life, and decided around nine years ago to look for one of these coupes. By sheer luck he very quickly found a mint example refurbished by an aircraft engineer, but it was in Perth.

The originals – the Ledgerwood Collection

14 February, 2025

Thanks to Central Otago’s dry climate, it’s no surprise to find that Wanaka couple Jim and Daphne Ledgerwood are steadily developing an incredible collection of amazing coupes. ‘The Originals’ they have are as per factory new condition, and their aim is to keep them for everyone to see how it was done back in the day—pure nostalgia.
An occasional email from Jim usually reveals another gleaming addition. The collectors also have an impressive display of American pickups. It’s our gain and US enthusiasts’ loss, as car agent’s adverts proclaim, “Sorry you missed out. Gone to New Zealand!” Some of Jim and Daphne’s cars are almost part of the family, hence their nicknames.