As we all head towards the Christmas holiday period, we can reflect on what’s been another rough year for rallying in New Zealand.
Four rounds of the New Zealand Rally Championship were able to get off the ground, allowing Hayden Paddon to claim yet another well-deserved title, but the series wasn’t without its organisational challenges.
Major rallies at Coromandel, the Bay of Plenty, Targa New Zealand and the Battle of Jack’s Ridge were either cancelled or postponed until next year, and other events suffered a similar fate.
It wasn’t all bad news though, and those rallies that did manage to get lucky with COVID-19 restrictions were rewarded with big fields and healthy competition.
To cap it all off, the hard work of Motor Sport New Zealand, PJ Johnston and many others culminated in Rally New Zealand finally being reinstated as a round of the FIA World Rally Championship for 2022, amidst jubilant scenes.
It’s a return to the top level of rallying that is not only long overdue, but hugely deserved.
Local bias notwithstanding, the best rally drivers in the world unanimously agree that the country has the best rally roads in the world. That, in itself, should make the rally a calendar regular.
That’s something none of us know with any certainty at this stage, however. There’s still a belief among many that New Zealand’s return is only a one-off, with a Bathurst-based Rally Australia returning to the championship in 2023.
On that front we’ll just have to wait and see.
There was also good news just this week, when MSNZ President, Wayne Christie, was elected onto the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council.
Christie will serve his time under new President Mohammed Ben Sulayem and his VP, Robert Reid.
It’s a real boost for rallying worldwide, with Ben Sulayem and 14-time Middle East Rally Champion, and Reid the WRC champion alongside Richard Burns in 2001.
Amongst all the positive news though, we now head into the new 2022 season with just as much trepidation as we did leading into 2021.
The new Omicron strain of COVID-19 is wreaking havoc across the Northern Hemisphere, with countries once again imposing strict lockdown restrictions to try and keep the latest variant under control.
Down Under we’re now enjoying our warm summer weather, but unless the strain is reeled in over the coming months, then we could be in for similar problems when autumn and winter come around again.
It’s a bit like Groundhog Day really.
For now though, let’s reflect on another year of rallying, and look forward with a steely determination that 2022 will offer up an uninterrupted rally season.
Merry Christmas to you all, and may your New Year be a ‘rally’ good one.
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