New Zealand’s Otago Rally is a surprise addition to the 2019 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship calendar, which has been released by the FIA.
The Dunedin-based event is the first of seven rounds of the APRC, which for the first time in years, is minus an Australian event.
New Zealand will host the first two rounds, with the April 12-14 Otago Rally being followed by the Rally of Whangarei on May 4 and 5.
The two NZ events, along with round three in Indonesia, form the Pacific Cup side of the APRC, while rounds four to six in Malaysia, Japan and China will count for the Asia Cup.
The final round will be in India in early December 2019.
Australia gave up the right to host an APRC round, as previously reported by RallySport Magazine.
The full 2019 APRC calendar is:
12-14 April: Rally of Otago* – New Zealand (Pacific Cup)
03-05 May: Rally of Whangarei – New Zealand (Pacific Cup)
06-07 July: Rally of Medan* – Indonesia (Pacific Cup)
03-04 August: Rally of Johor* – Malaysia (Asia Cup)
20-22 September: Rally Hokkaido – Japan (Asia Cup)
26-27 October: China Rally Longyou* – China (Asia Cup)
07-08 December: India Rally* – India (Final)
* Subject to ASN confirmation
See the full list of FIA championships HERE.
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Peter has been the editor of RallySport Magazine since its inception in 1989, in both printed and online form. He is a long-time competitor, event organiser and official, as well as working in the media.
