New Zealand Rally Championship
The New Zealand Rally Championship is New Zealand's leading off-road motor rally competition. A multi-event national championship has been held each year since 1975. Today the championship is held for a variety of classes based on engine capacity and further split by four or two wheel drive. The top class for a number of years has been the international Group N technical regulations and has been dominated by drivers of turbo-charged four wheel drive Mitsubishi Lancers and Subaru Imprezas.
The New Zealand Rally Championship has been a launching pad for the career of many New Zealand drivers. Rod Millen and Possum Bourne being the most notable. Recently Hayden Paddon has used the series as a springboard to international competition, competing in the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship before moving on to the Production and Super 2000 World Rally Championships.
The championship was formed around the then newly created Rally New Zealand when it joined the World Rally Championship in 1977. Since then Rally New Zealand has frequently been the starring event of the NZRC and the event is current based in Auckland. The International Rally of Whangarei is also a round of the NZRC as well as being a round of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. The current six round championship also takes in events based in Otago and Canterbury regions with two events based at Wairarapa.Champions
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