RALLY NZ HAS A TITLE SPONSOR

For a couple of years now, Rally New Zealand has been run without a title sponsor. This is due to the new regulations preventing sponsorship with pharmaceuticals therefore preventing Propecia to continue to sponsor Rally New Zealand like they did for many years. But yesterday the Rally New Zealand organisation announced a new title sponsor, REPCO.

Repco will now sponsor both Rally New Zealand this year and Rally Australia in 2009. This is the first sponsorship deal of its kind. Repco plan to do a lot of advertising and promotion to the event to try and raise the profile of rallying in the Australasian/Asia-Pacific region.

This will all hopefully mean that there is bigger hype and more spectators at our round of the WRC this year. I remember hearing a few disappointed comments about the lack of hype and people at the event last year, which is sad because of the world-wide profile that the event has and how it puts NZ on the world stage.

The WRC is watched by more than 100 million people around the world, a lot of which are from Europe which happens to be New Zealand's biggest tourism demographic.

Information about Rally Australia is still unavailable; venues and the rally route are yet to be confirmed. But the event is to be held in the Brisbane area, shifted from the last Rally Australia held in 2006 in the Perth region which was won by Mikko Hirvonen.

The new rotation calendar means that Rally Australia and Rally New Zealand run each in their own year. Rally New Zealand runs in August this year, then Rally Australia at about the same date next year, then in 2010 Rally New Zealand jumps to an earlier May date.

The new calendar plans mean that the World Rally Championship will run over two years and 24 events with no event given exclusive status to run every year. This is to help cut costs for teams and to try and include new rallies trying to get into the championship. Meaning of course that each rally will run every two years.

Lately there have been some issues with teams regarding the 2010 calendar because of three 'unknown' events being run. Whether the FIA will change the calendar or the teams will cease their involvement with the WRC at the end of 2009 is still uncertain.



So presenting, Repco Rally New Zealand and Repco Rally Australia!



-Meerly 100 days until the week of Rally New Zealand.... (Repco Rally New Zealand :) )