16 Mar 2011

WRC to confirm, 2012 Rally New Zealand

10:32 am on 16 March 2011

The World Rally Championship will return to New Zealand in 2012, with the World Motor Sport Council soon to confirm that Rally New Zealand's back on the WRC calendar after being dropped this year.

When World Motor Sport Council members met in Paris earlier this month they were presented with a draft calendar, which includes New Zealand.

They'll complete a fax vote by early April to confirm the exact dates for each round.

Rally New Zealand chairman Peter Johnston says there was a very real possibility

the WRC would decide to permanently cut its travel costs, despite the event's popularity with drivers.

He says the WRC and Formula One management organisations still have to resolve some issues with date clashes and shipping logsitics are another issue.

But Johnston says the rally will probably be mid-year and be based in Auckland again.