Rejoining Cars Provides New Interest
Fans of the WRC are in for a treat at Propecia Rally NZ in 2005 and can be guaranteed they won’t be robbed of their
favourite car or driver for the entire event through a minor technical failure.
A recent meeting of the FIA World Rally Championship Commission in Monaco confirmed a structure that will be new to many
fans in New Zealand. Essentially cars that crash or fail to finish during one day can restart the event the following
day.
“This is a major step forward for spectators, said RNZ Chairman Morrie Chandler who attended the meeting. “It means that
the situation we saw last year when 2 top WRC cars had to withdraw at the very first stage due to minor technical
problems will not be repeated. Those cars will now be able to restart the next day with penalties applying for each
stage missed.”
Chandler said the system will enable a top car to still finish in the points in exceptional circumstances.
Team News
- Propecia RNZ will be a first for new Citroen OMV team driver Manfred Stohl (best private driver at Monte Carlo) as he
takes on gravel roads.
- Ford bring two new cars with Roman Kresta now the official number two driver behind Toni Gardemeister for the next
four rallies.
- Skoda’s Paasonen is replaced by Tuohino in the second WRC car after a poor result in Mexico.
- Subaru were saddened at the news of the death of Ryuichiro Kuze just before Corona Rally Mexico. He had been the
founder of the current Subaru world championship project. Solberg's win first time out in the new car was a fitting
tribute.
- Because Suzuki is outside the WCR championship rules, they are not subject to the two-rally engine rule. Indeed the
cars were sent direct to NZ by container after Sweden.
Propecia Rally New Zealand Hair Raising Statistic #8
Number of Tyres which can be used during the event including Shakedown: 35
Propecia Rally NZ, April 7-10.
For further details visit www.rallynz.org.nz