November 7, 2025 • 5 mins
The 6th and final round of the 2025 New Zealand Rally Championship goes down this weekend, this time with the Rally of Whangarei.
Caleb MacDonald is behind the wheel, and he’ll be looking to close out the year by winning his first championship.
He caught up with D'Arcy to preview the event and delve into a crash that looked to derail his championship aspirations
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the All Sport Breakfast podcast with Darcy
Waldgrave from News Talk SEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Still with race cars though we're talking the sixth and
final round of them Land Rally Championship twenty twenty five
rally right over the weekend. Caleb McDonald to join us
at Queenstown Local. It's the Rally Challenge Series is involved,
so looking for a win, looking to win his first championship.
It went a bit pair shaped and bay of blendy,
(00:34):
I know. So we'll talk to Caleb about that and
preview that event. The area is now.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Good day, Caleb, gooday, Darcy, how are you mate?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Good mate, big day for you. It's thought the last
round of the Brian Green Property Group. He's a rally
championship and you're competing in the Rally Challenge Series. It's
just a day of action for you, right.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
It is just a day evention.
Speaker 4 (00:56):
The rally itself is the International Rally of fun Ra.
It's written for two days, so most of the compete. Well,
I'm also running two days myself, but points they were
accumulating for a New Zealand Championship is just based on
the Saturday. So yeah, pretty big day tomorrow to get
stuck in and try and make the most of it.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
You were looking down the barrel of your first national title,
and I've seen the pictures of the car from Bay
of Plenty went down a hill. You absolutely trashed your ride.
So technically your championship fight was over except for one
kind competitor.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Yeah that's right.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
Yeah, but unfortunately, really we're, as you said, you know,
doing well and working our way towards that maiden championship,
and they have plenty. We got a bit excited and
tipped the car on itside, rolled it five or six
times somewhere around there, and unfortunately deamed it so badly
that we couldn't get it fixed in time to get
(01:55):
here to funk Ray.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
So being very very lucky.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
A fellow competitor, Ben Hubbins, who's put his hand up
and lent us.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
He's got a Sabari. We call it an eight six.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
It was a three leader, non turbinaturally spreaded for the drive,
and it was a spare car of his that he
lesses out and yeah, pretty pretty amazing.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Really, we've got a we've got a car to try
and get to the finish and hopefully win the Championship.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
This is extraordinary because not only is it a good
thing to do and it says a lot about the
community of rally, but he's competing in the Rally Challenge
Series as well, So he's giving you a car and
he's driving against you. That that says a lot about
him too, right.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
Oh, absolutely, it's unbelievable support. I don't think there'll be
many racers in any form of racing sport around the
around the world that would help out a fellow competitor
the way that Ben has. So you know, to be
trying to outrun each other on the racetrack and you know,
for him to give us a leg up and and
(02:58):
you know, support us the way he has, it's just yeah, Yeah,
he's an absolute legend.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
I can't thank him enough.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Yeah, I think to say the Sabaru this time around,
what did you trash at the Bay of Plenting? And
how different are those two cars to I suppose get
used to because they'd be quite subtle around the changes
in what you actually have to do from a piloting
point of view.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Year Yeah, yeah, they are a little bit different.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
So the car that I've been running up to this
point wasn't Mitsubishi Evo six nineteen ninety nine. It's a
two liter fouriel drive Tribo, So you know, one of
the classic rally cars that you would often see on
the TV back in the day. But of course I've
crashed that and smashed it up and can is it?
So the car that benz lemi is a Sabaru.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
It's a four whel drive.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
It looks like an early model Sabari WRX, but the
engine's been swiped out for a three liter six cylinder
boxer engine. So it's initurally s rated engine, which means
that slight differences in the.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Way you drive it. Obviously don't have the terribo pushing
you along quite as much.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
The I need to reve it out a bit more
of the power power ranges in the top top sort
of rev range between sort of five and a half
and seven and a half thousand RPMs.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
So yeah, but differnt tell.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Us a weird about the Really Challenged series where it
sits within the whole picture, because Brian Green probably group's
in a really championship. There's so many categories, aren't there?
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Yeah, there are, there are quite a few categories.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
The way they sort of split them up is by
drive trains, so full all drive and two wheel drive,
and then they break them up into categories based on
engine size as well. Category five, which is the really
challenge for a drive class that we're in, is basically
well they call it Cat five. It's sort of the
second tier below Category one, which is the Hayden Patterns
(04:54):
and ben Hunts, you know, the leaders of their sort
of sport. So we're the next tier down and it's
aimed moret at sort of budget racing. We're any points
on account for today here at this really, so you
don't have to do both those if you don't want to.
But yeah, it's a really really good class. It's the
camaraderie and the friendships that we make here amazing. We
(05:17):
like to race hard on the track, but you know,
all the boys and ladies support each other and help
out with parts if we need them or obviously a
whole car if you really need it.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
So it's a bloody good class to be part of.
Speaker 4 (05:32):
And yeah, the friendships and the beers afterwards or what
it's all about too.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
For more from the All Sport Breakfast with Darcy Watergrave,
listen live to News Talk said Be on Saturday mornings,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the All Sport Breakfast podcast with Darcy
Waldgrave from News Talk SEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Still with race cars though we're talking the sixth and
final round of them Land Rally Championship twenty twenty five
rally right over the weekend. Caleb McDonald to join us
at Queenstown Local. It's the Rally Challenge Series is involved,
so looking for a win, looking to win his first championship.
It went a bit pair shaped and bay of blendy,
(00:34):
I know. So we'll talk to Caleb about that and
preview that event. The area is now.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Good day, Caleb, gooday, Darcy, how are you mate?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Good mate, big day for you. It's thought the last
round of the Brian Green Property Group. He's a rally
championship and you're competing in the Rally Challenge Series. It's
just a day of action for you, right.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
It is just a day evention.
Speaker 4 (00:56):
The rally itself is the International Rally of fun Ra.
It's written for two days, so most of the compete. Well,
I'm also running two days myself, but points they were
accumulating for a New Zealand Championship is just based on
the Saturday. So yeah, pretty big day tomorrow to get
stuck in and try and make the most of it.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
You were looking down the barrel of your first national title,
and I've seen the pictures of the car from Bay
of Plenty went down a hill. You absolutely trashed your ride.
So technically your championship fight was over except for one
kind competitor.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Yeah that's right.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
Yeah, but unfortunately, really we're, as you said, you know,
doing well and working our way towards that maiden championship,
and they have plenty. We got a bit excited and
tipped the car on itside, rolled it five or six
times somewhere around there, and unfortunately deamed it so badly
that we couldn't get it fixed in time to get
(01:55):
here to funk Ray.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
So being very very lucky.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
A fellow competitor, Ben Hubbins, who's put his hand up
and lent us.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
He's got a Sabari. We call it an eight six.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
It was a three leader, non turbinaturally spreaded for the drive,
and it was a spare car of his that he
lesses out and yeah, pretty pretty amazing.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Really, we've got a we've got a car to try
and get to the finish and hopefully win the Championship.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
This is extraordinary because not only is it a good
thing to do and it says a lot about the
community of rally, but he's competing in the Rally Challenge
Series as well, So he's giving you a car and
he's driving against you. That that says a lot about
him too, right.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
Oh, absolutely, it's unbelievable support. I don't think there'll be
many racers in any form of racing sport around the
around the world that would help out a fellow competitor
the way that Ben has. So you know, to be
trying to outrun each other on the racetrack and you know,
for him to give us a leg up and and
(02:58):
you know, support us the way he has, it's just yeah, Yeah,
he's an absolute legend.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
I can't thank him enough.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Yeah, I think to say the Sabaru this time around,
what did you trash at the Bay of Plenting? And
how different are those two cars to I suppose get
used to because they'd be quite subtle around the changes
in what you actually have to do from a piloting
point of view.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Year Yeah, yeah, they are a little bit different.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
So the car that I've been running up to this
point wasn't Mitsubishi Evo six nineteen ninety nine. It's a
two liter fouriel drive Tribo, So you know, one of
the classic rally cars that you would often see on
the TV back in the day. But of course I've
crashed that and smashed it up and can is it?
So the car that benz lemi is a Sabaru.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
It's a four whel drive.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
It looks like an early model Sabari WRX, but the
engine's been swiped out for a three liter six cylinder
boxer engine. So it's initurally s rated engine, which means
that slight differences in the.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Way you drive it. Obviously don't have the terribo pushing
you along quite as much.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
The I need to reve it out a bit more
of the power power ranges in the top top sort
of rev range between sort of five and a half
and seven and a half thousand RPMs.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
So yeah, but differnt tell.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Us a weird about the Really Challenged series where it
sits within the whole picture, because Brian Green probably group's
in a really championship. There's so many categories, aren't there?
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Yeah, there are, there are quite a few categories.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
The way they sort of split them up is by
drive trains, so full all drive and two wheel drive,
and then they break them up into categories based on
engine size as well. Category five, which is the really
challenge for a drive class that we're in, is basically
well they call it Cat five. It's sort of the
second tier below Category one, which is the Hayden Patterns
(04:54):
and ben Hunts, you know, the leaders of their sort
of sport. So we're the next tier down and it's
aimed moret at sort of budget racing. We're any points
on account for today here at this really, so you
don't have to do both those if you don't want to.
But yeah, it's a really really good class. It's the
camaraderie and the friendships that we make here amazing. We
(05:17):
like to race hard on the track, but you know,
all the boys and ladies support each other and help
out with parts if we need them or obviously a
whole car if you really need it.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
So it's a bloody good class to be part of.
Speaker 4 (05:32):
And yeah, the friendships and the beers afterwards or what
it's all about too.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
For more from the All Sport Breakfast with Darcy Watergrave,
listen live to News Talk said Be on Saturday mornings,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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