It’s now less than five weeks until the opening round of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship, which means that it’s finally almost ‘rally time’.
The first event of the season is the series’ southern-most rally, the Otago Rally based out of Dunedin.
Over the past 20 years, the Otago Rally has built their reputation on not only having one of the best rounds of the NZRC, but also running a hugely competitive classic rally alongside the national round.
In fact, the popularity of the classic rally has often outshone the NZRC rally, and it’s not hard to see why.
Back in the early 2000s the rally started to target an international guest driver to headline the event, and there has been no limit in the quality or stature of the drivers that they have coerced down under.
The list reads like a who’s who of world rallying! It’s a list of legends:
Russell Brookes – British Rally Champion
Hannu Mikkola – World Rally Champion
Bjorn Waldegard – World Rally Champion
Juha Kankkunen – 4x Rally Champion
Michele Mouton – Rallying’s fastest female driver
Ari Vatanen – World Rally Champion
Didier Auriol – World Rally Champion
Miki Biasion – 2x World Rally Champion
Gywndaf Evans – British Rally Champion
Jimmy McRae – British Rally Champion
Markku Martin – WRC legend
Mads Ostberg – WRC legend
Alex Fiorio – Lancia WRC star
Pasi Haggstrom – Subaru WRC test driver
And that’s not to mention the long list of Australian rally greats who have also travelled across the ditch for their shot at the title: Ross Dunkerton, Greg Carr, Geoff Portman, Neal Bates and Cody Crocker, to name just a few.
This year’s Otago Rally was set to welcome another legend, the Finnish WRC star, Mikko Hirvonen, but alas, those plans have again been scuppered.
The rally has had three goes at getting Hirvonen to Dunedin. The first time he was signed by Mini to drive the Dakar Rally and had to withdraw, while in 2020 and 2021 the dreaded COVID-19 has intervened.
Not to be deterred, however, organisers have signed Kiwi Superbike hero, Aaron Slight, to drive the Rossendale Wines Escort RS1800 from April 16 to 18.
Of course, Slight will not be competitive at the front of the field, and is unlikely to even feature in the top 10, but having a well-known Kiwi motorsport personality in the field will help to ensure media interest remains strong.
The effects of COVID-19 are lingering on, and even further rallies in 2021 will be subject to the latest rules and regulations regarding the worldwide pandemic.
The inability to travel freely has already forced Motorsport New Zealand to cancel their two rounds of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (Otago and Whangarei), instead choosing to support five drivers for the Australian finale in November.
Each of those five drivers will have access to up to $3000 to assist them to compete in the Coffs Harbour Rally, providing a real carrot for leading teams to put their best foot forward.
But again, all that is COVID-19 dependent. Further cases and snap lockdown or border control decisions later in the year could well put an end to any of those plans too.
It’s further evidence that life in 2021 is still a week-by-week proposition.
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