Organisers of the New Zealand Rally Championship have announced the 2025 calendar including the return of two events for the first time since the pandemic.
The season will, as has become traditional, begin with the two-day Otago Rally, April 4-6, based in Dunedin.
The action will then resume at the South Canterbury Rally on May 10, based in Timaru, before a return to the Canterbury Rally in Christchurch on June 1.
Following a mid-season break, teams will move to the North Island with another returning event, Rally Coromandel, to be held on August 23 from the seaside town of Whitianga.
The series then moves to the Tauranga-based Rally Bay of Plenty on October 11, before the second two-day round of the season, the International Rally of Whangarei, to round out the season on November 7-9.
“It’s really exciting to be able to release the calendar as we work into the 2025 season,” NZRC co-ordinator Blair Bartels said.
“To be able to welcome a couple of exciting events in Canterbury Rally and Rally Coromandel back on to the calendar alongside fantastic events like Otago Rally, South Canterbury Rally, Rally Bay of Plenty and the International Rally of Whangarei is very pleasing.
“Book-ending the championship with a pair of two-day events amongst four one-day events keeps things exciting right to the final round, while splitting the events into South and North Island with a mid-season break was very well received amongst the teams this season and offers numerous benefits.
“Of course, we’re blessed to have so many rallies of a high calibre in this country and while keeping to a six-round calendar, unfortunately they can’t all fit in.
“On that note, we’d like to thank the organisers of the Daybreaker Rally and Southern Lights Rally for their efforts across the last two seasons, particularly stepping up at short notice to pull together the Daybreaker Rally in 2023.” — APL