The Rally New Zealand was first held in Taupo in 1969, and was subsequently staged in Canterbury, before moving back to the North Island in 1971.
The rally was included as a round of the World Championship in 1977. Auckland has hosted the majority of the events, however, beginning in 2006 event is based in Hamilton, with the service park, parc ferme and the super special stage all being located at the Mystery Creek Events Centre. Rally New Zealand is famous for its fast flowing gravel roads which carry the competitors through forests and alongside the impressive New Zealand coastline.
The WRC teams voted Propecia Rally New Zealand "Rally of the Year" in 2001. The 2007 Rally New Zealand was run from 31 August to 2 September and ended with the closest-ever finish in the history of the World Rally Championship. After over 350 competitive kilometres, only 0.3 seconds separated the winner Marcus Grönholm and second-placed Sébastien Loeb.
| Year | Driver | Co-driver | Car |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Grady Thompson | Rick Rimmer | Holden Monaro |
| 1970 | Paul Adams | Don Fenwick | BMW 2002 |
| 1971 | Bruce Hodgson | Mike Mitchell | Ford Cortina–Lotus |
| 1972 | Andrew Cowan | Jim Scott | BLMC Mini 1275 GT |
| 1973 | Hannu Mikkola | Jim Porter | Ford Escort RS1600 |
| 1974 | Not Held - International Oil Crisis | ||
| 1975 | Mike Marshall | Arthur McWatt | Ford Escort RS1800 |
| 1976 | Andrew Cowan | Jim Scott | Hillman Avenger |
| 1977 | Fulvio Bacchelli | Francesco Rossetti | Fiat 131 Abarth |
| 1978 | Russell Brookes | Chris Porter | Ford Escort RS |
| 1979 | Hannu Mikkola | Arne Hertz | Ford Escort RS1800 |
| 1980 | Timo Salonen | Seppo Harjanne | Datsun 160J |
| 1981 | Jim Donald | Kevin Lancaster | Ford Escort RS |
| 1982 | Björn Waldegård | Hans Thorszelius | Toyota Celica |
| 1983 | Walter Rohrl | Christian Geistdörfer | Lancia 037 Rally |
| 1984 | Stig Blomqvist | Bjorn Cederberg | Audi Quattro |
| 1985 | Timo Salonen | Seppo Harjanne | Peugeot 205 T16 E2 |
| 1986 | Juha Kankkunen | Juha Piironen | Peugeot 205 T16 E2 |
| 1987 | Franz Witman | Jorg Pattermann | Lancia Delta HF 4W |
| 1988 | Josef Haider | Ferdinand Hinterleitner | Opel Kadett GSi 16V |
| 1989 | Ingvar Carlsson | Per Carlsson | Mazda 323 4WD |
| 1990 | Carlos Sainz | Luis Moya | Toyota Celica GT-Four |
| 1991 | Carlos Sainz | Luis Moya | Toyota Celica GT-Four |
| 1992 | Carlos Sainz | Luis Moya | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD |
| 1993 | Colin McRae | Derek Ringer | Subaru Legacy RS |
| 1994 | Colin McRae | Derek Ringer | Subaru Impreza 555 |
| 1995 | Colin McRae | Derek Ringer | Subaru Impreza 555 |
| 1996 | Richard Burns | Robert Reid | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III |
| 1997 | Kenneth Eriksson | Staffan Parmander | Subaru Impreza WRC97 |
| 1998 | Carlos Sainz | Luis Moya | Toyota Corolla WRC |
| 1999 | Tommi Makinen | Risto Mannisenmäki | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI |
| 2000 | Marcus Grönholm | Timo Rautiainen | Peugeot 206 WRC |
| 2001 | Richard Burns | Robert Reid | Subaru Impreza WRC 2001 |
| 2002 | Marcus Grönholm | Timo Rautiainen | Peugeot 206 WRC |
| 2003 | Marcus Grönholm | Timo Rautiainen | Peugeot 206 WRC |
| 2004 | Petter Solberg | Phil Mills | Subaru Impreza WRC 04 |
| 2005 | Sébastien Loeb | Daniel Elena | Citroën Xsara WRC |
| 2006 | Marcus Grönholm | Timo Rautiainen | Ford Focus RS WRC 06 |
| 2007 | Marcus Grönholm | Timo Rautiainen | Ford Focus RS WRC 07 |
| 2008 | Sébastien Loeb | Daniel Elena | Citroën C4 WRC |
| 2010 | Jari-Matti Latvala | Miikka Anttila | Ford Focus RS WRC 09 |
| Number | Driver | Country | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Marcus Grönholm | Finland | 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007 |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz | Spain | 1990, 1991, 1992, 1998 |
| 3 | Colin McRae | British | 1993, 1994, 1995 |
| 2 | Andrew Cowan | British | 1972, 1976 |
| Hannu Mikkola | Finland | 1973, 1979 | |
| Timo Salonen | Finland | 1980, 1985 | |
| Richard Burns | British | 1996, 2001 | |
| Sébastien Loeb | France | 2005, 2008 |
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