A large rally contingent of 99 entries partook in a day of getting their cars complied by the scrutineer on Friday, ready for the seven-day 2024 Silver Fern Rally as well as the first two days of the event doubling as the final two rounds of the 2024 Mainland Rally Championship.
Silver Fern Rally banners and numbers were attached to the cars before the driver briefing as well as key Rallysafe equipment installed. This all took place at the Riccarton Park Racecourse in Christchurch which doubled as Parc Ferme for the night.
Turning heads when it arrived was the genuine factory Lancia Stratos HF which is being driven by Philip Kadoorie from the UK. All eyes will be on this car to see how well it performs on the New Zealand’s roads.
WRC co-driver Candido Estevez (Carrera) regularly co-drives for WRC’s Dani Sordo in a partnership which has lasted several years. He has made the trip down-under to co-drive for Daniel Alonso in a 1979 Ford Escort. This is the first outing for the car since its restoration in Spain.
Another popular figure with WRC experience is Hayden Paddon, however instead of driving he will be mechanic for his father Chris Paddon who will be driving the Toyota Levin AE101.
With the day’s formalities coming to a conclusion at 5pm, the cars made the procession to the City Centre for a static display where crowds gathered to view and take photographs.
Saturday morning the field will leave the Riccarton Park Racecourse at 8am and make their way to Broomfield. They will ease into the event with the 6.64km Brodies Rd stage. This will be the first of 52 special stages which will be run over seven consecutive days.
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