A six-round series has been confirmed for the 2024 Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship, featuring three events in the South Island, including the introduction of the Southern Lights Rally in Invercargill, before three rounds in the North Island.
The season begins in usual form with the Otago Rally on April 13-14, before Rally South Canterbury, which moves forward a month to May 11.
The Southern Lights Rally concludes the series’ time in the South Island, running over iconic Southland roads on June 22.
Following a three-month break, the championship returns to action in the North Island with the popular Daybreaker Rally out of Manuwatu on September 14, ahead of Rally Bay of Plenty on October 5.
The International Rally Whangarei concludes the 2024 championship, moving from a traditional mid-year time slot to take place on November 8-10.
“We are excited to confirm a six-round championship for 2024 that will see the calendar really split into a South Island half and a North Island half. That should really help competitors logistically as well as cutting down on our carbon footprint,” said coordinator Blair Bartels in a release shared by the series.
“We welcome the Southern Lights Rally – the first time the championship has visited Southland since 2004 – and look forward to getting back on some terrific roads in the Deep South.
“It is great to be able to bookend the championship with a two-day event at the start and again at the end, which should mean the title race will almost certainly come down to the final round.
“We are also very pleased to have some consistency with all five of our 2023 rounds appearing on next year’s calendar. Rally organisers did a great job with all of our events this season, and we are delighted to offer them a place on the 2024 calendar.”
MotorSport New Zealand chief executive Elton Goonan said he was excited to see the calendar confirmed.
“It’s fantastic to see the New Zealand Rally Championship continuing to go from strength to strength,” said Goonan.
“A six-round championship with the addition of a new rally in Southland shows that rallying is alive and growing in New Zealand. The confirmation that Daybreaker and Bay of Plenty events are back again after a triumphant return this year, along with the rest of the great events that have become staples of the championship, will make for another brilliant NZRC season.”
2024 New Zealand Rally Championship
| April 13-14 | Otago Rally |
| May 11 | Rally South Canterbury |
| June 22 | Southern Lights Rally (Invercargill) |
| September 14 | Daybreaker Rally (Manuatu) |
| October 5 | Rally Bay of Plenty |
| November 8-10 | International Rally of Whangarei |
Header Image: Hayden Paddon and John Kennard won Saturday’s Daybreaker Rally. Photo: Tayler Burke
