2 September 2013
Rally NZ bosses propose ambitious plan to retain World Rally Championship
Rally New Zealand organisers are embarking on an ambitious plan to retain this country as a host for the FIA World Rally
Championship.
They have withdrawn their bid to host the event in 2014 in favour of Australia in order to initiate a new concept
allowing both nations to stage the World Rally Championship round for three years in succession.
The calendar for the 2014 season is due for release early September.
The popularity of the sport has resulted in the FIA deciding to share the Championship to some countries on a biennial
basis, which has resulted in Australia and New Zealand hosting every other year.
“The problem is this has just not worked,” said Rally New Zealand Chairman Peter Johnston. “The lack of continuity has
significantly affected the commercial viability and our ability to resource the event with skilled personnel to a world
class level.”
In order to provide a more sustainable model with continuity of profile and interest, Rally New Zealand has raised the
concept of replacing the current format with one that would see a three year term in Australia followed by three years
in New Zealand.
“While the World Rally Championship promoters are focused on the short term, and are therefore not in a position to
agree to the suggestion at this time, it has provided a platform for some constructive discussions. We hope this will
lead to future WRC events in both Australia and New Zealand being run to a high standard and inspiring commercial
partners, competitors and the public alike to support the event.”
Mr Johnston said sponsors had struggled to leverage their investment on a year-on, year-off basis, while it proved too
challenging to retention and re-training key volunteers in what is a significantly technical sport.
“So we have come up with the concept of each country staging the event for three years at a time. It is a fair time for
sponsors to maximise branding and gain a return on their investment. We can build a solid marketing base to develop
public interest and we can retain a high level of expertise to run the event.
“We are competing with other international venues in the WRC that receive significant central and local government
support. We hope that this new structure would enable us to attract levels of government support that are in line with
the international status of the event and the financial investment that the WRC enjoys around the globe.”
Rally New Zealand is arguably this country’s longest running international event that forms part of a bone fide world
championship. The event, which has been run for more than 40 years, was first included as a round of the World Rally
Championship back in 1977. It has been a regular stop on the championship with drivers universally praising the event
for its high level of organization and its status as offering the best rallying roads in the world.
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