Personal life

John Kennard (born 11 February 1959) is a

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a North American school or college sporting event Sport ...

co-driver A co-driver is the navigator of a rally car in the sport of rallying, who sits in the front passenger seat. The co-driver's job is to navigate, commonly by reading off a set of pacenotes to the driver (what lies ahead, where to turn, the severity ...

born in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. In 2024 John lives between his homes in Marlborough, NZ and

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

with his wife Satu Lappalainen. They own and run New Zealand vineyar
Vicarage Lane
producing

Sauvignon Blanc Sauvignon blanc () is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the city of Bordeaux in France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an ind ...

Riesling Riesling ( , ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling ...

, Sauvignon, and

Pinot Noir Pinot noir (), also known as Pinot nero, is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words fo ...

wines.

Rally career

Kennard's first taste of the

WRC WRC may refer to: Broadcasting stations * WRC-TV, a television station (virtual channel 4, digital channel 34) licensed to Washington, D.C., United States * Several radio stations in the Washington, D.C. area: ** WWRC, a radio station (570 AM) l ...

came at the 1985

1000 Lakes Rally Rally Finland (formerly known as the Neste Rally Finland, Neste Oil Rally Finland, 1000 Lakes Rally and Rally of the Thousand Lakes; , ) is a rally competition in the Finnish Lakeland in Central Finland. The rally is driven on wide and smooth g ...

where he co-drove in a

Toyota Starlet The is a subcompact car manufactured by Toyota from 1973 until 1999, replacing the Publica, but retaining the Publica's "P" code and generation numbering. The first generation Starlet was sold as the Publica Starlet in some markets. In Japan ...

for Brent Rawstron. Kennard is a well-known co-driver to numerous drivers, the most notable being

Hayden Paddon Hayden Paddon (born 20 April 1987) is a New Zealand rallying, rally driver. He was World Rally Championship-3, PWRC world champion in 2011 and won the New Zealand Rally Championship in 2008, 2009, 2013, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023. In 2023 Europea ...

at Hyundai motorsport. The pairing had their first win at

Rally Argentina The Rally Argentina () is an Argentine rally competition that has been a round of the World Rally Championship, the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, the South American Rally Championship and the Argentine Rally Championship. It is held in the ...

in , bring New Zealand to the top step of the WRC podium. In March 2017 it was announced that Kennard would step down as Paddon's co-driver after

Rally Finland Rally Finland (formerly known as the Neste Rally Finland, Neste Oil Rally Finland, 1000 Lakes Rally and Rally of the Thousand Lakes; , ) is a rallying, rally competition in the Finnish Lakeland in Central Finland. The rally is driven on wide an ...

and that a replacement for Kennard would be announced soon. The replacement was confirmed the day after to be

Kevin Abbring Kevin Abbring (born 20 January 1989) is a Dutch rally driver. His father, Edwin Abbring, is also a well-known former rally driver. Career Abbring started his motorsport career in Rallycross with a 60 bhp strong buggy for newcomers, winning ...

's co-driver Sebastian Marshall. Kennard suffered a hip injury prior to the 2017 Rally de Portugal, which meant Marshall had to substitute for Kennard for the rally. On 30 May, Kennard retired as co-driver earlier than what was planned, because of the injury. Kennard was voted

Marlborough Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to: Places Australia * Marlborough, Queensland * Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993 * Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...

Sportsperson of the Year in 2016, succeeding

Sophie MacKenzie Sophie MacKenzie (born 31 March 1992) is a New Zealand Olympic rower and, together with Julia Edward, double world champion in lightweight double sculls. Personal life MacKenzie was born in 1992 and grew up in the Waihopai Valley. Her parents ...

. 2023 saw John compete with

in the 2023 European Rally Championship. The pair came out on top claiming their first

European Rally Championship The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an rallying, automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The champion ...

Title, and becoming the first non-european team to win the championship. John and Hayden also fought off local competition to win his 6th New Zealand Rally Championship Co-Drivers Title. In 2024 John stepped down from his NZRC co-driving duties, allowing up and coming

Jared Hudson to sit with driver

, with John sitting with Hayden, and claiming a back-to-back

Title.

Rally victories

WRC victories

ERC victories

NZRC victories

Rally results

WRC results

ERC results

References

External links

eWRC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennard, John 1959 births Living people New Zealand rally co-drivers Sportspeople from Palmerston North World Rally Championship co-drivers