The New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC) is New Zealand's leading off-road motor rally competition. A multi-event national championship has been held each year since 1975. Today the championship is held for a variety of classes based on engine capacity and further split by four or two wheel drive. The top class for a number of years has been the CAT1 class, featuring R5, NR4, and AP4 cars. The New Zealand Rally Championship has been a launching pad for the career of many New Zealand drivers.

Rod Millen Rodney K. "Rod" Millen (born 22 March 1951) is a New Zealand racing driver, vehicle designer, and business owner. He has competed in numerous genres of motorsports, including rally racing, off-road racing, hillclimbing, drifting, and super touring ...

and

Possum Bourne Peter "Possum" Raymond George Bourne (13 April 1956 – 30 April 2003) was a champion New Zealand rally car driver. He died under non-competitive circumstances while driving on a public road that was to be the track for an upcoming race. Awards ...

being the most notable. Recently

Hayden Paddon Hayden Paddon (born 20 April 1987) is a New Zealand rally driver. He was PWRC world champion in 2011 and won the New Zealand Rally Championship in 2008, 2009, 2013, 2018 and 2021. Career Paddon was introduced into motorsport at an early age, ...

has used the series as a springboard to international competition, competing in the

Asia-Pacific Rally Championship 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 S20 ...

before moving on to the

Production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, Super 2000 World Rally Championship, and

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...

s. The championship was formed around the then newly created

Rally New Zealand The Rally New Zealand is an annual rally race in New Zealand. It was first included as a round of the World Rally Championship in 1977. The race is famous for its fast flowing gravel roads which carry the competitors through forests and alongside ...

when it joined the

in 1973. Since then Rally New Zealand has frequently been the starring event of the NZRC and the event is current based in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. The International Rally of Whangarei and International Rally of Otago are also rounds of the NZRC as well as being rounds of the

. The current 2022 championship also takes in events based in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

Champions

Drivers

Sourced from:

Co-Drivers

Sourced from:

2WD

Drivers

Co-drivers

NZ Rally Challenge Series (4WD)

Drivers

Co-Drivers

Junior

Drivers

Co-Drivers

Manufacturers

Rookie

Drivers

Co-Drivers

Teams Cup

Multiple Winners

Drivers

Co-Drivers

References

External links

Series Official Web Site
{{Rally championships Rally racing series Motorsport competitions in New Zealand