World-class course for Auckland rally
A host of leading drivers will battle it out over 121km to find the winner of the City of Auckland Rally in November this year.
Organisers have confirmed the route for the event will include stages that were set to be used for the World Rally Championship (WRC) round in New Zealand, which was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The rally will start at Kumeu Showgrounds at 7.50am on November 14 before cars head north to the 16km Kaipara Hills stage. They then tackle a 23km Puhoi test before a 16km stage through Riverhead Forest in Auckland’s north-west.
After a late morning service in Kumeu, drivers will repeat the early three-stage loop before a second service mid-afternoon.
Competitors will complete 121km of driving with two runs through the six-kilometre, purpose-built Jacks Ridge stage on former NZRC champion Andrew Hawkeswood’s farm in Whitford.
Peter Johnston, chairman of Rally New Zealand, says: “We are thrilled to be able to use some of the most iconic roads in Rally New Zealand’s history for the City of Auckland Rally.
“Many of these stages haven’t been used for a long time but they are steeped in rallying history. Competitors today will get the chance to drive on stages that were used in the 1980s and 1990s.”
Johnston says organisers had worked hard to bring a world-class event to Auckland even without the WRC, which had been due to hit our shores in September.
“We are gutted that Covid-19 forced the cancellation of Rally New Zealand this year but we are fighting hard to bring the event back in the future and the City of Auckland Rally gives us a chance to showcase what an amazing event we could run down here,” he explains.
“The Jacks Ridge stage is a world-class WRC power stage and would have been a real highlight on the WRC calendar this year had we been able to run.
“It is going to be a fantastic experience for our best drivers here in New Zealand.”
In a bumper weekend of action, a standalone rally sprint called the Battle of Jacks Ridge is being held in Whitford on November 15.
The second event will see a host of famous Kiwi drivers behind the wheel, including Greg Murphy, Hayden Paddon and Shane van Gisbergen.
