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 centrepiece of the Thailand Rally Championship, the rally was first in 1989 and joined the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) in 1992. It remained a long-running component of the championship, frequently as the first or last round. It ran through the APRC's heyday when it was seen as a junior series for future World Rally Championship stars and was won by drivers like Tommi Makinen and Colin McRae. Malaysian driver Karamjit Singh has had the most success with three victories. The rally was dropped from the APRC after the 2003 event, returned for 2005 and was dropped again. In 2013 the rally returned to the APRC as a candidate round and also a final round of the APRC Asia Cup, although it will not count for overall APRC points. [1]
Chris Atkinson is a professional rally driver. In the World Rally Championship (WRC), Atkinson drove for the Subaru World Rally Team between 2004 and 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.
The 2009 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship season was an international rally championship sanctioned by the FIA.
The 2010 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship season is an international rally championship sanctioned by the FIA.
Gaurav Gill is a professional rally driver and an Indian motorsports athlete who competes in the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. In 2013, Gaurav Gill became the first Indian driver to win the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship and went on to win two more APRC titles in 2016 and 2018. Gill became the first sportsperson from Motorsports to win the coveted Arjuna Award from the President of India in 2019.
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 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 teammate 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 Rally Hokkaido (ラリー北海道), is an international rally racing event held on the island of Hokkaidō in Japan.
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). 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 but is now unsponsored.
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 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.
The 2019 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship was an international rally championship sanctioned by the FIA. It was the 32nd championship and underwent a major format change. For the first time the two Cups, the Asian Cup and the Pacific Cup, acted as qualifying events for a "Grand Final" at the China Rally Longyou where the highest qualified winner becomes the Asia-Pacific champion.
In the motorsport discipline of rallying, Group Rally2 is a formula of rally car specification determined by the FIA for use in its international competitions: the World Rally Championship (WRC) and regional championships. National rallying competitions also allow Group Rally2 cars to compete. There are no subclasses despite the use of the word 'Group' in the name so 'Rally2' may be used alone with the same definition. The group was launched in 2019 with other similarly named groups after the introduction of the Rally Pyramid initiative to reorganise the classes of car and championships in international rallying was approved in June 2018.
In the motorsport discipline of rallying, Group Rally3 is a formula of rally car specification determined by the FIA for use in its international competitions: the World Rally Championship (WRC) and regional championships. National rallying competitions also allow Group Rally3 cars to compete. There are three technical subclasses of Group Rally3 however these do not affect competitive eligibility so 'Rally3' may be used alone with the same definition. The group was launched in 2021 with the homologation of the first car after the introduction of the Rally Pyramid initiative to reorganise the classes of car and championships in international rallying was approved in June 2018.
In the motorsport discipline of rallying, Group Rally4 is a formula of rally car specifications determined by the FIA for use in its international competitions: World Rally Championship (WRC) and regional championships. National rallying competitions also allow Group Rally4 cars to compete. There are two technical subclasses of Group Rally4 however these do not affect competitive eligibility. 'Rally4' may be used alone with the same definition. The group was launched in 2019 after the introduction of the Rally Pyramid initiative to reorganise the classes of car and championships in international rallying was approved in June 2018.
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