Story by Evan Rothman
Picture by Eva Kovkova
Heading to the other side of the world, the World Rally Championship flies long-haul to Auckland for the WRC Rally New Zealand.
Round Five of the 2010 season is not only unique as being the one and only event in the Southern Hemisphere this year, but it is also the longest rally on the calendar in six years.
The Rally New Zealand is renowned for its fast and flowing gravel roads, its warm hospitality and scenic beauty, but it is also a round of the Championship eagerly awaited by many of the drivers. Mikko Hirvonen (BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team), Petter Solberg (Petter Solberg World Rally Team) and Sebastien Loeb (Citroen Total World Rally Team) are at the front of the Drivers’ title fight, and are also the most successful drivers at Rally New Zealand. Loeb won this event most recently in 2008, Solberg in 200 (for the Subaru World Rally Team), while Hirvonen has enjoyed podium results here.
The Ford Focus RS WRC is quick here, as can be attested by the former double World Rally Champion Marcus Gronholm’s victories here in 2006 and 2007; Hirvonen will be aiming to emulate his former team-mate this weekend, and to regain lost ground in the Drivers’ Championship standings.
With a competitive distance of 396,50km, a total rally distance of 1 496,51km and 21 stages, Rally New Zealand will be an endurance event more than a sprint as in Mexico or Sweden.
These longer stages that wind into new territory for the WRC were selected to take advantage of the new-for-2010 rules that permit remote service park zones. These remote service parks will be held in Whangarei (Day One), Hampton Downs (Day Two) and Raglan (Day Three), all in the northern regions of New Zealand as the event has been relocated from its 2008 base in Hamilton to Auckland’s Queen Wharf.
As in the Rally of Turkey, this weekend’s event will feature two asphalt stages in this gravel-run event. With scattered overnight rain thus far this week in Auckland, the gravel will be slippery but will not be dusty. Hirvonen will find this fact pleasing, after he chewed dust in Turkey last month.
Day One’s nine stages take place in and around the Whangarei and Kaipara districts, and ends at the Auckland Domain with a Spectator Super Special stage on Friday evening. Crews head out to Franklin and the northern Waikato areas to the roads previously used in 2008’s event for eight stages, and features the two asphalt stages. The final day of the rally takes place in Raglan along the coastline for four fast stages.
The roads of Rally New Zealand are comparable to Finland’s rally, minus the dramatic jumps. Here crews face cambered roads that encourage the drivers to attack. When the car crosses the camber, it usually jumps. Precise car setup and confidence in the pace notes will be key to setting the fastest stage times and in reaching the end of this long event. If crews find themselves on the wrong side of the camber when braking for corner, they might find themselves in a spot of bother. Bring on WRC Rally New Zealand!