Rally New Zealand organisers have confirmed that the route for the May 6-9 event includes a return to the all-asphalt Auckland Domain stage last run in 1990.
The Auckland Domain stage is an all asphalt 1,500-meter blast through one of the city’s picturesque parks. The Friday evening stage will start at 1845 local time and run in the dark. This is the first time this stage has been used since 1990, a year when Carlos Sainz picked up the first of his four Rally NZ wins.
The fifth round of this season’s World Rally Championship returns to an Auckland base, having spent recent years running out of Hamilton, further south on the North Island. The confirmed itinerary takes crews back to the stages north of the City of Sails while incorporating the roads on the Tasman coast around Raglan on the final day. This means the total distance covered by the crews will be almost twice that of Rally Mexico, which runs one of the most compact routes in the sport.
Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen has praised the Rally New Zealand organisers for the longer route, which also includes an increase in the number of competitive kilometres from 353km in 2008 to 396km for this year.
“Rallying should be about endurance,” said Hirvonen. “It was a bit like this in Sweden earlier in the year: you need to see who can come off the long road sections, which have been a bit boring, and then turn it on for the stages. I’m looking forward to it, it’s always a great rally on great roads.”
The Mayor of Auckland city, the Hon John Banks QSO, is also cheering the return of the WRC. He said: “Hosting this and other events of this calibre reinforces Auckland as a major international events destination. We are pleased to be working with Rally New Zealand to deliver an exciting and successful event.”