News

Fourth International Rally of Whangarei a great success

The fourth running of a full international rally in Whangarei has again resulted in a very successful motorsport event which attracted several thousand spectators and considerable media attention.

Whangarei’s Mayor Stan Semenoff has joined with officials from the International Rally of Whangarei to praise all involved with the two-day competitive event which utilised roads throughout the Whangarei and Kaipara districts. The rally attracted competitors from as far afield as India and the United Kingdom with 67 cars starting the 2010 event.

Mayor Semenoff said the rally adds a buzz to the city. “It’s become a very welcome event on the city’s calendar and once again was a wonderfully well-organised event.”

The rally is part of two major and one smaller rally series, attracting competitors from as far afield as India and the United Kingdom as well as all over New Zealand. Counted as a round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship, the Vantage New Zealand Rally Championship and the Stilo Top Half Rally Series, this year’s International Rally of Whangarei had 67 cars cross the start ramp with 48 finishing in the various classes.

Hayden Paddon and John Kennard, from Geraldine and Blenheim respectively, won the event for the third time, completing the 285 km of competitive stages with a margin of nearly four minutes over Hamilton’s Emma Gilmour and Australian co-driver Ben Atkinson in second. Australian brother-and-sister pairing Brendon Reeves and Rhianon Smyth took third place.

Rally organising committee chairman Willard Martin said: “The event ran smoothly on Saturday, but Sunday was the real test. Firstly our volunteer crews and competitors had to contend with extremely heavy rain and difficult conditions, and then a major accident closed State Highway 1 at Oakleigh.

“Everybody on our team went the extra mile to make things work efficiently, re-directing rally cars to get them back to Whangarei for their lunchtime service and providing the relevant rally communications to competitors and emergency services personnel. This enabled the event to continue running more or less on time and minimised the rally traffic’s impact on regular public traffic in very challenging weather conditions,” said Martin.

The rally organisation was thanked by St Johns Northland and the New Zealand Police for promptly making the rally’s medical helicopter and team available to assist victims at the SH1 crash site.

“Sunday’s weather also meant plans for the ceremonial finish beside Whangarei’s Quayside Town Basin needed to be amended. We extend our thanks to numerous personnel within the Whangarei District Council, in particular the council’s chief operating officer Jude Thompson and economic development manager Peter Gleeson, for helping us relocate the finish ceremony to a suitable indoor site. The efforts of all involved to create a suitably celebratory venue inside the one of the sheds used for building frigates were greatly appreciated.”

Numerous activities before the rally also created a sense of excitement for the upcoming rally action, said Martin. “Public activities such as the driver autograph signing session in Cameron Street Mall drew a great crowd of rally enthusiasts enjoying the chance to talk to their favourite drivers. And once again, the colouring competition attracted hundreds of entries from school children all over the district with the three age group winners 5 – 7 years old Tyla Kean from Onerahi Primary School, 8 – 10 years old Catherine Skinner from Maunu Primary School and 11 – 13 years old Shanelle Hansen from Whangarei Intermediate getting a huge amount of pleasure from being able to take two friends with them for a ride to school in the special rally convoy.

“Then there was the Lions Club family fun day which runs alongside the rally action at the Pohe Island super special stage. Again these activities attracted many, many families who came out to see the drivers in action – fortunately Saturday’s weather was fine which helped make this a fantastic day for all involved.”

Mayor Semenoff also commented: “The rally always puts on a good show for spectators and has become a real family event. We greatly appreciate the economic benefits for Whangarei, and the international publicity is priceless.”

Martin said: “Each of the 67 cars utilises a crew of ten to fifteen personnel in the various competitive, service and support roles, and the rally organisation itself draws on several hundred volunteers to help run the event, so well over 1,500 people converge in the Whangarei and Kaipara districts across the five days of set-up and running of the event.

“In addition, the rally attracted nearly 50 media this year. Six of these represented India’s largest media organisations, travelling to Whangarei with the assistance of the Indian MRF Tyres rally team and the International Rally of Whangarei. This provides a unique opportunity for profiling the Whangarei and Kaipara districts in an important tourism market.

“Television coverage of the event is broadcast literally all over the world with highly-regarded New Zealand-based APRC.TV Ltd recording, producing and distributing all TV footage for the Asia Pacific Rally Championship. APRC news highlights and one hour feature programmes are shown to millions of rally fans via major sports channels throughout Asia, Europe, Australia, Latin America and the Middle East. Coverage of the New Zealand Rally Championship is produced by local company Volt TV and screens on TV3 and Sky Sport to an ever-increasing audience,” says Martin.

“On behalf of the International Rally of Whangarei, I thank the Whangarei District Council, the Kaipara District Council, all the community groups such as the Maungaturoto Co-operative, the combined Lions Clubs of the Whangarei district, all the residents and everyone involved with the event. These events truly require a team effort and we appreciate everyone’s hard work and enthusiasm to help us put together a highly-regarded, professional rally.”

Steven Kennedy, who stepped down as the long-time president of MotorSport New Zealand recently and is now the president of the FIA APRC Working Group, added his own comments regarding the event’s success. “Well done to the whole team on an excellent event. New Zealand can certainly be proud not only of its drivers, but the level of organisation over the years is simply outstanding.”

The International Rally of Whangarei is scheduled to take place in mid 2011 with an exact date to be confirmed by the FIA by October this year.