Held yearly in Whangarei in New Zealand, the Rally of Whangarei is the third
round of the seven-leg APRC.
For the past nine years, the New Zealand leg of the APRC had been held in Rotorua.
2008 marks the 2nd year that this leg has been held in Whangarei.
The Rally of Whangarei comprises of a total of 667.66km
over 15 stages of gravel covered road surfaces, through harsh and wintry
weather conditions.
Event History
Rally New Zealand successfully lobbied the FIA in 1988 to create the FIA Asia
Pacific Rally Championship which is an FIA Regional Championship run annually
in seven countries within the region. In the early years our event was run as
part of the New Zealand round of the World Rally Championship.
In 2000 the New Zealand round was run for the first time as a stand alone event
based in Rotorua using the Motu special stages with an auxiliary service park at
Matawai. This format was used for seven years.
2007 was the first year that the event was moved north to the fabulous roads
previously used many times by New Zealand's World Rally Championship event.
With the Rally HQ, Start, Finish and Service Park at the Quayside Town Basin
in the heart of Whangarei, competitors, officials and spectators are able to
enjoy the great hospitality and facilities at the Basin.
