
Rally Bay of Plenty returns drivers to famous forest roads
This weekend’s Battery Town Rally Bay of Plenty will throw a brand-new challenge at the leading Kiwi rally drivers in the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship.
For the first time in over two decades, the national championship will visit some iconic stages in the Matahina Forest that were famous in the 1990s and early 2000s.
“We haven’t been there for a long time,” rally organiser Dave Loughlin explained. “We are in the Matahina Forest, where rally hasn’t been for 20 years.
“Very few of the top drivers will have experienced this forest.”
Loughlin said drivers can expect a traditional forestry test but on roads that will hold up well.
“The roads are well drained, hard based in most cases,” he said.
“We are using a mix of major forestry roads and some smaller roads to join them together. It is soft rolling country – not too steep.
“They are generally well-maintained. Like all forest, it is reasonably fast.
“The Nursery Rd stage has an amazing surface on it that has good metal grip, that has had lots of traffic.”
Battery Town Rally Bay of Plenty begins with a ceremonial start at Mitre 10 Mega in downtown Tauranga before a full day of action on Saturday.
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