Rally New Zealand
The Rally New Zealand is an annual rally race in New Zealand. It 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.
The 2012 Rally New Zealand is the 42nd edition of the event.
Past winners
*, denotes years when Rally New Zealand was not part of the World Rally Championship
Multiple Winners
Number | Driver | Country | Years |
---|---|---|---|
5 | Marcus Grönholm | Finland | 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007 |
4 | Carlos Sainz | Spain | 1990, 1991, 1992, 1998 |
3 | Sébastien Loeb | France | 2005, 2008, 2012 |
Colin McRae | UK | 1993, 1994, 1995 | |
2 | Andrew Cowan | UK | 1972, 1976 |
Hannu Mikkola | Finland | 1973, 1979 | |
Timo Salonen | Finland | 1980, 1985 | |
Richard Burns | UK | 1996, 2001 |
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rally New Zealand. |
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