Rally chairman Peter Johnston confirmed today that Rally New Zealand will not be included on the 2023 world calendar although active discussions are underway with WRC Promoter and stakeholders regarding the world championship event returning to Auckland in 2024.
Johnston said that this week’s Repco Rally New Zealand will deliver a significant return on investment for local and central Governments and sponsors.
“The event will bring much need support to the accommodation sector. We believe visitation will be around 34,000 bed nights and potential economic benefit of many millions for Auckland,” said Johnston.
“The WRC television broadcast will be seen by more than 70 million viewers globally, including pictures of our beautiful landscapes and some great feature pieces with the drivers who have been seeing the best of Auckland this week.”
Johnston said his organisation are focused on Rally New Zealand taking a biennial place on the WRC calendar.
“We believe that the future is strong for this event in New Zealand. WRC has deep roots in New Zealand and the fan interest this week shows how special this event is for our country.
“This week is the first FIA World Championship motorsport event to be held in New Zealand featuring hybrid electric vehicles and fully sustainable fuel which represents a new age of motorsport.”
Johnston said that the global calendar for World Rally Championship is extremely competitive and that Rally New Zealand has looked to host the event for several years. He said that his organisation believes that this would not be practicable annually, but every two to three years.
“We are confident that after a successful event this week that our team will be in a strong position to be included on the 2024 WRC calendar.”
WRC Promoter Managing Director Jona Siebel said his organisation is delighted to return to New Zealand.
“The whole WRC community has been very much looking forward to our return to New Zealand, given the event was first included on the 2020 season calendar,” said Siebel.
“Here we are two years later and the excitement remains. With the amount of work that PJ and his team have done, along with the great support of Tātaki Auckland Unlimited and the other sponsors and partners, we want to find a way to make sure this effort can be capitalised on with a strategy for a future return.
“This will require a clear commitment from central government as well as Auckland Unlimited, and we’re very much in the mix with these negotiations now.
“Rally New Zealand has a great heritage in the WRC, and as we’ve seen with the recent return of Safari Rally Kenya and Acropolis Rally Greece, it is a key ambition of WRC Promoter to maintain such events where possible.”
Repco Rally New Zealand gets underway with the with the Opening Ceremony and Super Special Stage in Auckland Domain on Thursday from 5.30pm.
View our full guide to the four day event here.
