Rally New Zealand Historical Stats

The WRC visits the Southern Hemisphere for the second and final time of the season with this weekend's Rally New Zealand. The classic event has seen many top drivers compete and only the best have won. Defending world champion Sébastien Loeb is coming off a victory in Germany, coupled with a late mistake by Marcus Grönholm, dropping the Finn from 2nd to 4th in the rally. The gain for Loeb brought him within 8 of the lead and he looks to add his second Rally NZ title.

New Zealand has been included in the WRC Drivers Championship 26 times, dating back to the 1979 season. It was left out of the 1981 WRC calendar and rotated to 2-Litre status for 1996. The Rally has been known by 7 names:

Motogard Rally New Zealand (1979, 1980, 1982)
Sanyo Rally New Zealand (1983 & 1984)
AWA Clarion Rally New Zealand (1985-1988)
Rothmans Rally New Zealand (1989-1994)
Smokefree Rally New Zealand (1995-1997)
Rally New Zealand (1998-2000 & 2007)
Propecia Rally New Zealand (2001-2006)

Debut WRC wins in New Zealand:

Franz Wittmann (AUT) - 1987 in Lancia Delta HF 4WD
Sepp Haider (AUT) - 1988 in Opel Kadett GSI 16V
Colin McRae (GBR) - 1993 in Subaru Legacy RS

Notable WRC debuts in New Zealand:

Possum Bourne (NZ) - 1983 in Subaru RX Coupe (finished 14th)
Yoshio Fujimoto (JAP) - 1991 in Nissan Pulsar GTI-R (retired)
Rod Millen (NZ) - 1977 in Mazda RX 3 (finished 5th)
Fumio Nutahara (JAP) - 1999 in Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V (retired)
Malcolm Stewart (NZ) - 1977 in Ford Escort Mexico (retired)

For complete list of Winners and Historical Stats click here.

Did You Know?

Malcolm Stewart is back, having entered this year's Rally New Zealand in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6.5. The Kiwi driver has started 21 of the 26 WRC Drivers Championship events in New Zealand. The only times he missed was in 1987, a break from 1990 to 1992 and then last year's event. He has finshed 18 times, including 6 times in the points. The highlight of his WRC career was a third place finish on the 1998 Rally New Zealand, driving an Audi Coupe Quattro.