The International Rally of Whangarei is a rally racing event held in Whangarei, New Zealand. The first event was run in 2007 replacing the International Rally of Rotorua as New Zealand's round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC). [1] With the World Rally Championship's move to a rotational calendar means that the International Rally of Whangarei becomes in the years Rally New Zealand is not held, New Zealand largest rally event. The rally also hosts a round of the New Zealand Rally Championship. While originally being a late season event, today it is held in May and is the season opening event in the APRC. The rally has been sponsored by automotive lighting manufacturer Hella for most of the events history [2] but is now unsponsored.
The Whangarei area, in the northernmost part of New Zealand's North Island, is a former host of Rally New Zealand. [1] The event has had remarkably few winners over its history with local driver Hayden Paddon having won five editions, whereas Indian Gaurav Gill has won three times and Australian Chris Atkinson has won twice.
The first event saw Paddon take victory after a rally-long battle with Cody Crocker. The following year former New Zealand champion Chris West took victory over Paddon and Crocker. Paddon defeated Crocker again in 2009 and took his third victory in 2010 over Emma Gilmour. 2011 was the first time the rally was won by a non-local with Chris Atkinson winning over Paddon. Atkinson won again in 2012 ahead of Per-Gunnar Andersson. 2013 saw Paddon take his fourth win ahead of Esapekka Lappi. [1]
Chris Atkinson is a professional rally driver. In the WRC, he drove for the Subaru World Rally Team from 2004 to 2008. His best finish on an individual WRC event is second, which he achieved at the 2008 Rally México and Rally Argentina. Other podium placings include third-place finishes at the 2005 Rally Japan and the 2008 Monte Carlo Rally.
The Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) is an international rally championship organized by the FIA encompassing rounds in Asia and Oceania. Group N cars dominated the championship for many years but in recent years cars built to R5 and S2000 regulations have tended to be the frontrunners.
The National Capital Rally, replaced the Rally of Canberra as Canberra's round of the Australian Rally Championship and is an automobile rally event held in and around Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The Rally of Canberra first held in 1988. For many years the National Capital Rally (NatCap) was an ACT Series Rally that was held separately to the Rally of Canberra. When the Rally of Canberra ceased to exist the National Capital Rally was elevated to a round of the National Championship.
Hyundai Motorsport is responsible for Hyundai's global motorsports activities. The company was established in December 2012 and is based in Alzenau, Germany.
The 2009 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship season was an international rally championship sanctioned by the FIA.
Hayden Paddon is a New Zealand rally driver. He was PWRC world champion in 2011 and won the New Zealand Rally Championship in 2008, 2009, 2013 and 2018.
The 2010 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship season is an international rally championship sanctioned by the FIA.
Proton Motorsports is rally team of car manufacturer Proton, currently competing with the Proton Satria Neo S2000 in the Super 2000 World Rally Championship. The team partner is British based Mellors Elliot Motorsport (MEM).
The 2011 Rally de Portugal was the third round of the 2011 World Rally Championship season. It was the season's first European event held on gravel roads. The rally took place over 24–27 March, beginning with a super special stage in the city of Lisbon. The rally was also the second round of the Production World Rally Championship and the inaugural event of the WRC Academy.
The 2011 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship season is an international rally championship sanctioned by the FIA. The championship is contested by a combination of regulations with Group N competing directly against Super 2000 cars for points. While the majority of competitors are privately funded, Malaysian manufacturer Proton enters a factory team of Super 2000 Proton Satria's for Australian driver Chris Atkinson and Scot Alister McRae.
The 2011 Rally Australia was the 21st Rally Australia and the tenth round of the 2011 World Rally Championship season. The rally took place over 8–11 September, and was based in Coffs Harbour, a coastal city in the New South Wales state of Australia. The rally was also the fifth round of the Production World Rally Championship. Rally Australia returned to the WRC calendar after a year's hiatus, and after demonstrations marred the 2009 running of the rally, held north of Coffs Harbour in the Northern Rivers area. Residents' concerns for the event meant that the rally was moved for the foreseeable future to Coffs Harbour.
The 2012 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship season is an international rally championship sanctioned by the FIA. The championship is contested by a combination of regulations with Group N competing directly against Super 2000 cars for points. Australian driver Chris Atkinson won the championship he narrowly lost the previous year, beating the Proton R3 Rally Team he raced for in 2011. His Škoda Fabia won the Rally of Whangarei as well as his home event the International Rally of Queensland as well as finishing second in New Caledonia, Malaysia and China, building up a lead his 2011 team mate and defending champion Alister McRae could not catch once his Proton Satria Neo started winning at the Malaysian Rally and the season ending China Rally. The only other rally winners were Indian Skoda driver Gaurav Gill at the Rallye de Nouvelle Calédonie and Malaysian Proton driver Karamjit Singh. Super 2000 cars dominated results with only New Zealand driver Brian Green finishing in the top three at any event in a Group N car.
The 2013 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship season is an international rally championship sanctioned by the FIA. The championship is contested by a combination of regulations with Group N competing directly against Super 2000 cars for points. A new rally was added to the calendar, the first since Rally of Queensland in 2009, in the Thailand Rally.
The New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC) is New Zealand's leading off-road motor rally competition. A multi-event national championship has been held each year since 1975. Today the championship is held for a variety of classes based on engine capacity and further split by four or two wheel drive. The top class for a number of years has been the international Group N technical regulations and has been dominated by drivers of turbo-charged four wheel drive Mitsubishi Lancers and Subaru Imprezas.
The Rallye de Nouvelle-Calédonie is a rally racing event held in the French island of New Caledonia. The rally dates back as far as 1967 and was known then as the New Caledonia Safari. That first rally was won by Australian driver John Keran driving a Volvo 122S. The rally was promoted to international status as a round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) in 1999. In 2000 the rally was dropped from the APRC but returned in 2001 and has been part of the regional championship ever since, although the 2003 event was abandoned due to heavy rain.
The Thailand Rally, also known as the Rally of Thailand, is an international rally racing event based in Bangkok, Thailand. The event is a round of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship Asia Cup, the Tri-Nations Rally series and the Thailand Rally Championship.
The 2014 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship season was an international rally championship sanctioned by the FIA. The championship was contested by a combination of regulations with Group N competing directly against Super 2000 cars for points.
The 2015 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship season is an international rally championship sanctioned by the FIA. The championship was contested by a combination of regulations with Group N competing directly against Super 2000 cars for points.
The 2017 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship season was an international rally championship sanctioned by the FIA. The championship was contested by a combination of regulations with Group R competing directly against Super 2000 cars for points.
The 2018 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship season is an international rally championship sanctioned by the FIA. It is being held for the 31st time. The championship was contested by a combination of regulations with Group R competing directly against Super 2000 cars for points.
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