Propecia Rally of New Zealand
Propecia Rally of New Zealand: Rally Overview
The best stages in the World
Down The Years
The Propecia Rally New Zealand is always one of the highlights of the World Rally Championship season. The landscape is beautiful, and the event tends to be open and unpredictable. For more than three decades it has been thrilling fans with its smooth-gravel stages, which are fast and flowing, and rewards those drivers who have the best car control. A real drivers' event.
To highlight that fact you only have to look at past winners: Marcus Gronholm, Richard Burns, Tommi Makinen, Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz, Juha Kankkunen, Walter Rohl, Bjorn Waldegard. Basically if you can win Rally New Zealand, titles often follow.
Mother Nature
A switch to a springtime slot (that's the Northern Hemisphere spring, not Antipodean) made the 2003 event slightly wetter than in previous years. And, when it does rain, the event can turn into a venerable mud-fight, although the elements on Rally New Zealand are not the harshest the drivers will face in the championship. However, that is not really the point. Many drivers believe that Rally New Zealand has the essence of the sport, placing driver talent and skill at a premium in countryside that is the physical representation of the phrase 'awe-inspiring'.
Fans of New Zealand
Rally New Zealand is the furthest event from the WRC teams' bases, but, because New Zealand is sitting on shifting tectonic plates, the islands move 1.2 inches closer to Europe every year! Despite this, the spectators on Rally New Zealand tend to be Kiwis and Aussies rather than Brummies and Scandinavians. But what you will find in the host city, Auckland, and the outlying countryside is that the locals are very welcoming and laidback, and they love rallying. You can't really ask for more than that!
The Route
'Best stages in the world'. That's what the drivers will tell you. That, and 'fast and flowing'. These may sound like clichés, but if you have ever seen snatches of the rally on television you will know exactly what the drivers mean. For 2004, the rally returns to the stages to the south west of Auckland, including the famous Whangaa Coast stage. This is probably one of the most scenic stretches of road in the WRC. However, it's a gruelling trip for the teams and drivers – when the stages were last used in 2002, the crews were lucky to catch a few hours sleep before having to encamp at the next service park!
New Zealand's Challenge
This is a rally which all the drivers love because the smooth-gravel roads seem to fall away at impossible cambers which require an aggressive, committed approach if you want to set a good time. The event does not put undue mechanical stress on the cars because the stages are smooth and flowing, nor is it particularly specialised – Toni Gardemeister finished third here on his first event behind the wheel of a World Rally Car. All that makes New Zealand an excellent indicator of undiluted talent and bravery. Because of the high speeds involved here, if you do get it wrong, accidents tend to be pretty spectacular. Other natural hazards include rapid and sudden interfaces with sheep. Drivers are advised to bring their own mint sauce!
Speed TV:
18/04/2004 21:30EDT
18/04/2004 01:30EDT
25/04/2004 13:00EDT
03/04/2004 13:30EDT
Off. Site http://www.rallynz.org.nz/
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Thread hijack moment: you going to have a car ready for rocky HJR?
. i havent been able to get the right car up and going yet. School and work and fate have been conspiring against me, haha
