As I write this, there’s only 16 days left in the year, which means that once the clock ticks past 11.59pm on December 31st, everything will be okay again.
It will be 2021, COVID-19 will be a thing of the past, and we’ll all live happily ever after.
At least that’s what we’re led to believe by many.
The reality is, however, that in parts of the world things are only getting worse. Winter is taking its hold, and new cases of Coronavirus are soaring to never-before-seen heights.
Things are pretty good down under though, and New Zealand and Australia are two of the countries being lauded for their control of the pandemic, and the ways in which we have got back to some form of normality.
That may be the case in many walks of life, but for motorsport, and rallying specifically, things will be far from ‘normal’ for a long time.
COVID normal, they say …. whatever that actually means!
The NZRC’s first two events of the year will be prime examples of how much the virus is still affecting the sport, and how much we are reliant on the powers that be to allow us to get back to the way things used to be.
The season-opening Otago Rally has become the ‘go to’ event for Australian classic rally competitors who want to sample one of the world’s greatest rallies on some of the world’s greatest roads.
But with international borders closed, organisers are currently preparing for what will be pretty much an ‘NZ only’ affair.
Australians are still not allowed to enter the country, and while there is talk that a ‘border bubble’ could be introduced in the new year, it won’t help would be competitors much.
By that stage, any chance of shipping cars, booking airfares and getting things organised for the Otago Rally will most likely have long since past.
The event is facing a similar problem with their overseas star driver, Mikko Hirvonen. The Finn is probably eager to get out of Europe, but again, that’s unlikely to happen any time soon.
Next up is the Rally of Whangarei, round two of the NZRC and, like the Otago Rally, usually a round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship.
Similarly, the chance of seeing any competitors from Asia making it to the event are slim.
Nevertheless, it’s not all doom and gloom. Sure, we’d love to welcome international competitors to these popular events, but if they can’t make it, then there’s an abundance of local talent already lining up to take on the winding gravel roads.
Rallies in the latter part of 2020 only served to whet the appetites of rally fans around the country, who are now counting down the days until the Otago Rally on April 16 – international visitors or not!
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