Familiar route for N.Z. motor rally

Press, 23 February 1985, Page 16

Familiar route for N.Z. motor rally

PA , Wellington Competitors in this year’s world championship New Zealand motor rally will cover 1000 kilometres of high speed driving during the four-day event. The provisional route de- ■ tails issued this week ■revealed that the rally organisers have opted to retain the basic route round the top half of the North Island used in last year’s 'event.

The 1985 rally is spread over 230 km and divided into four legs between June 29 and July 2. Leg one will begin from the Auckland Domain at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 29. Competitors will drive north to Maungaturoto before returning to Auckland for the first overnight stop. The second leg goes to Rotorua, with the third taking in forest and back coun-

try roads on a large loop back to Rotorua for the Monday night. The final leg follows rugged country through the King Country and Waikato back to Auckland.

All but four of the 45 speed stages will be over gravel roads, said the organiser, Willard Martin. The inclusion of four tarmac stages — three more than last year — was to accommodate overseas entrants.

“Many of the overseas teams told us after last year’s rally that they found bringing full sets of special slick tyres to New Zealand just for the 2.6 km Manukau City stage to be a bit meaningless,” Mr Martin said.

The 45 stages total 1000 km and include 32 daylight stages. Thirty-eight are repeats from the 1984 rally. The average stage length is 24km with the

longest 43.6 km and the shortest 2.6 km. Two stages will be used twice.

Mr Martin said rally organisers were getting daily inquiries from overseas drivers and makes teams, and there would be several private entries from Japan. He said Peugeot, ■Audi, Nissan and Toyota had so far announced their intention to compete in New Zealand.

Audi will enter the new Quattro Sport four-wheel-drive vehicle. Generating 450 horse power, the car has a shorter wheel base and is more powerful than the Quattro’s which finished first and second last year. Peugeot will be entering two of their four-wheel-drive 250 Turbo 16 cars, Mr Martin said. He said organisers were studying several possibilities in their search for a major rally sponsor.