There were fears that New Zealand may disappear from the WRC calendar, however it seems that sanity has prevailed. The event is one of the most popular in the series, particularly among drivers who rate the New Zealand gravel stages as the best in the world.
The June 21-24 slot for Rally New Zealand could make for some interesting weather conditions on the north island with the event being held more than a month later than usual. If you’re thinking of adding the event to your holiday schedule, rest assured that the cold weather is more than made up for by the sideways action.
Standing on the Whaanga Coast as the world’s best drivers drove on the limit in search of the rally win was something to behold – and the view looking out over the ocean wasn’t bad either!
It’s sad that both New Zealand and Australia aren’t annual features on the WRC calendar, but with plenty of other countries all pushing to be added to the series, we should be thankful that we have two events in our part of the world that run in consecutive years.
2012 World Rally Championship calendar:
22/01 - Monte Carlo 12/02 - Sweden 11/03 - Mexico 01/04 - Portugal 29/04 - Argentina 27/05 - Greece * (or 03/06) 24/06 - New Zealand 05/08 - Finland 26/08 - Germany 16/09 - Great Britain 07/10 - France October - Italy * 04/11 - Spain * Dates subject to confirmation
- Peter Whitten
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