2025 NZ Rally Championship calendar set

Organisers of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship are proud to announce the 2025 calendar that includes the return of two events to the championship for the first time post-pandemic.

The season will, as has become traditional, kick off with the two-day Otago Rally on April 4-6, based in Dunedin. The action will then resume at the South Canterbury Rally on May 10, based in Timaru, before a return to the Canterbury Rally in Christchurch on June 1.

Following a mid-season break, teams will move to the North Island with another returning event, Rally Coromandel, to be held on August 23 from the seaside town of Whitianga. The series then moves to the Tauranga-based Rally Bay of Plenty on October 11, before the second two-day round of the season, International Rally of Whangarei, to round out the season on November 7-9.

“It’s really exciting to be able to release the calendar as we work into the 2025 season,” said NZRC Championship co-ordinator Blair Bartels.

“To be able to welcome a couple of exciting events in Canterbury Rally and Rally Coromandel back onto the calendar alongside fantastic events like Otago Rally, South Canterbury Rally, Rally Bay of Plenty and the International Rally of Whangarei is very pleasing.

“Book ending the championship with a pair of two-day events amongst four one-day events keeps things exciting right to the final round, while splitting the events into South and North Island with a mid-season break was very well received amongst the teams this season and offers numerous benefits.

“Of course, we’re blessed to have so many rallies of a high calibre in this country and while keeping to a six-round calendar, unfortunately they can’t all fit in. On that note, we’d like to thank the organisers of the Daybreaker Rally and Southern Lights Rally for their efforts across the last two seasons, particularly stepping up at short notice to pull together the Daybreaker Rally in 2023.”

“We’re pleased to see another New Zealand Rally Championship set for 2025,” said MotorSport New Zealand president Deborah Day.

“New Zealand is lucky to have the best rallying roads in the world, and with Rally Canterbury and Rally Coromandel returning to the championship calendar we get to see more of those roads contested at our highest level.”

Championship articles are in their final stages of preparation and will be released in due course.

2025 Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship Calendar:
Round 1: Otago Rally April 4-6
Round 2: South Canterbury Rally May 10
Round 3: Canterbury Rally June 1
Round 4: Rally Coromandel August 23
Round 5: Rally Bay of Plenty October 11
Round 6: International Rally of Whangarei November 7-9