MRF Tyres is pleased to confirm the expansion of its agreement with the New Zealand Rally Championship, which will see the Indian tyre manufacturer not only continue as the control tyre supplier for the series through to the end of the 2027 season but extend to also include the Rally Challenge classes.
The renewed agreement underlines the strength of the relationship between MRF Tyres and the NZRC, a partnership that has continued to grow since the introduction of the control tyre for the 2024 season.
Over the past two and a half seasons, the championship has enjoyed extremely competitive rallying, strong depth across the field and a high level of performance from the MRF product across New Zealand’s demanding gravel stages.
Since becoming the control tyre supplier, MRF Tyres has played a key role in supporting a stable and competitive technical platform for teams and crews.
The control tyre period has also coincided with stage records continuing to fall across the championship, highlighting both the performance and consistency of the tyres in some of the most challenging rally conditions in the region.
“This extension through to the end of 2027 underlines the commitment of both the New Zealand Rally Championship and MRF Tyres,” said Vivek Ponnusamy, on behalf of MRF Tyres.
“Our relationship has grown stronger season after season and is delivering real benefits for everyone involved. New Zealand is an important rally market, with extremely demanding stages, and we are proud that MRF Tyres continues to provide a competitive, reliable and proven product for the championship. We would also like to thank Palmside NZ for the excellent work they are doing in the NZRC, supporting customers with outstanding service and technical assistance throughout the championship”.
“Since the introduction of a control tyre for the 2024 season, the NZRC has gone from strength to strength and in 2026 we’re looking at a third straight championship that will go right down to the final stage.
“MRF have been a massive part of that success, not only as a loyal partner of the championship through a lot of global uncertainty, but also by providing a solid product that continues to see stage records tumble. More importantly, the reliability record has been extremely strong compared with what we saw during the open tyre era,” Blair Bartels, Championship Coordinator of the New Zealand Rally Championship, said.
“Given the success of the introduction over the last two and a half seasons, making the decision to expand to the Rally Challenge categories as well was an absolute no-brainer,” added Bartels.
“It is a move we believe will only continue to strengthen the championship and support competitors across different levels of the sport.”
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