The NZHerald reports: Drivers want a trans-Tasman rally championship
It quotes Hayden Paddon in his support of the idea: “If you merged the New Zealand and Australian championships you have more manufacturers, you have lots of good drivers and lots of teams and you bring in that trans-Tasman rivalry and I think it is a no-brainer.”
The article explores the possibility of a ‘…trans-Tasman championship to capitalize on the sport’s recent renaissance in New Zealand.’
The plan suggested by Paddon is to have ‘….a good championship where you had say three rounds in a row in New Zealand then ship the cars over to Australia for three rounds there – ok probably all on the East Coast.’
I tend to disagree.
We have a superb six-round championship here in NZ and any shift off shore potentially is to the detriment of a successful recipe that we currently have now. Yes, there is a renaissance in the domestic scene. So much so that we have three top Aussie contenders regularly competing (Australians Nathan Quinn, Brendan Reeves and Aussie-based Irishman Richie Dalton).
My argument against this is mainly around logistics. The costs, time and distance is substantial. More time off work for traveling to and from Australia could be better spent having more two-pass recces before each NZRC event (more to follow on this in another article).
What benefit is it for Kiwi drivers’ and teams? We already have the top Aussies’ coming here so let’s make our championship even better and attract more Australian drivers’ and teams.
What do you think?
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