Harry Bates’ reign of the Australian Rally Championship is under serious threat in 2025 with the arrival of double and reigning European Rally champion Hayden Paddon.
But the Australian is relishing the challenge to take on a driver he rates as among the very best in the world.
Bates has won three of the last four Australian titles in his Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia Yaris – beaten only by his brother, Lewis, in 2022.
In any other season he would start next week’s Rally of Canberra as the standout favorite, but with Paddon in town that status is far from assured.
However the 29-year-old is not shying away from the challenge, and is ecstatic to have the chance to measure himself up against a driver who’s won at the very highest level in rallying.
Bates (right) has won four of the last five Australian titles
“I was absolutely thrilled when Hayden announced the news that he’s coming here, and I’m very grateful to he and his team for making the effort to come over to Australia and find the budget to do the Australian Rally Championship,” Bates told DirtFish.
“I think Australian rally fans are in for a treat and we should all be very grateful that he has chosen the Australian Rally Championship to do his program this year, because if you look at his experience and what he’s done, you know, he’s done so many different championships around the world now, particularly with his ERC and WRC campaigns.
“It’s almost, to me, a dream and unbelievable that I have someone like that to compete against on a full-time basis this year. It’s the first time I’ve had that opportunity and yeah, I’m really looking forward to it.”
Bates rates Paddon as a “top five, top eight driver in the world”.
Paddon is extremely highly rated by one of his new 2025 rivals
“Maybe that’s a bit of antipodean bias, but that’s my opinion,” he explained. “If you look at where he was when he finished up full time with Hyundai in the WRC, he was a regular podium place getter in the World Rally Championship.
“And if you look at his last two years in the ERC as well, I think he’s proven himself to be definitely one of the top drivers in the world. So to have that opportunity for me to measure myself against someone like that, and to push myself and have to work really hard to be matching stage times with someone like that, it’s going to be really exciting.”
It promises to be a fascinating battle, invoking memories of the old Neal Bates (Harry’s father) and Possum Bourne scraps for supremacy.
Two drivers in two different cars (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 and Hyundai i20 N Rally2) and with very different strengths. Bates holds the experience card with vast knowledge of Australian stages to Paddon’s nought. But Paddon is Paddon.
“I am aware that we have some distinct advantages over Hayden here in Australia with road knowledge and so on. But equally, like I said earlier, I think he’s one of the top drivers in the world, so I have to be prepared for a big challenge,” Bates said.
“Obviously, I have no idea where I’m going to stack up yet, but I have competed against Hayden before. We’ve done some OK stage times against him, however I think the key is going to be doing that repetitively.
Bates is curious to see where he stacks up against Paddon
“But then I don’t think we should be so confident that it’s just going to be a straight up fight between Hayden and I or anything like that because there are drivers in Australia like my brother Lewis, like Scott Pedder, who did the WRC2 for many years, who have incredible pace and have had some really good results over the years.
“For the last few seasons, I certainly haven’t had it my own way in Australia. But equally, the added challenge of Hayden, it makes everyone work harder, doesn’t it?
“Like I’m sure if you look at the way that people evolve, as soon as they go to stiffer competition, they just improve as a driver. So that’s what I’m looking forward to.”
ERC desire
Paddon made history by becoming the first non-European driver to win the European championship in 2023. He then defended that in 2024.
But despite loving the championship, Paddon’s not returning in 2025 due to budget constraints.
Bates would love the chance to compete in the ERC
Bates meanwhile has only ever rallied outside of his native Australia twice before – first at WRC Rally New Zealand in 2022, where he finished fourth in WRC2, and then at last year’s Rally Hokkaido in Japan where he grabbed second.
He admitted he’d love to rally overseas more regularly – with a particular ambition to reach the ERC – but budget is an obstacle.
“I guess I’m not dissimilar to Hayden in this sense,” he said. “My budget currently only allows me to do the ARC, so that’s where our priority is.
“For me, it’s all about having the budget to go over and do these things, and last year we were able to secure the budget to go and do the event in Japan. That was something that Toyota Australia and Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan were very keen to work together on, which was great.
Australia is Bates' "comfort zone" but budget makes it difficult to broaden his horizons
“So it was an awesome opportunity for not only Coral [Taylor, co-driver] and I, but also an awesome opportunity for those countries to work together – Japan and Australia. So, yeah, it is really all about budget. I’m constantly thinking of ideas or opportunities.
“My dream at this stage is probably to compete in the ERC, if I’m honest. I kind of see that as like a natural progression from a national championship. And I think if you look at the broadcast package and so on for the ERC, it’s really good.”
Performing against Paddon this year on Australian soil would be a good way for Bates to prove his strength to the world.
Even if the battlefield is on roads he admits are his “comfort zone”.
