Big fields and new cars are set to be a feature of the 2023 New Zealand Rally Championship, which gets underway on the first weekend in April.
As usual, the season will begin with the Otago Rally, an event that will see local star Emma Gilmour debut her new Citroen C3 R5.
Her news came as the Otago Rally announced that over 100 competitors have submitted their ‘intention to enter’, including 24 international crews.
Gilmour’s new Citroen was driven to 12th place by the German driver, Armin Kremer, at Rally New Zealand in October. It’s a WRC-spec R5 car that should make her even more competitive in the NZ championship.
Her previous car, a Suzuki Swift AP4, has been plagued by reliability issues over recent seasons, and her move to the Citroen is seen as a real step forward.
“The C3 is amazing. The grip and handling is very impressive,” she said.
The car will be run by Hayden Paddon’s team during 2023 in what could be Gilmour’s best chance yet to challenge for the NZRC title.
It won’t be the first time that Gilmour has run an R5 or Rally2 car. In late 2021 she drove a Fiesta Rally2 to 12th at the Cambrian Rally in the UK.
Australian crews are lining up to contest the Otago Rally, with many contesting the ‘Allcomers’ rally in highly modified cars.
Former NZRC front-runner, Brendan Reeves, will enter his popular Datsun 1600, nicknamed “Datzilla”, while Adrian Stratford has confirmed his entry in a Honda-engined Toyota Corolla.
Both Stratford and Reeves were multiple stage winners in the recent Alpine Rally, before mechanical gremlins slowed their progress.
The Otago Classic Rally will attract huge interest with 15-event WRC winner Mikko Hirvonen to compete in a Ford Escort RS1800.
Hirvonen finished second in the WRC (to Sebastien Loeb) an incredible four times, and his first trip to the rally has been many years in the planning.
Based in Dunedin, the 2023 Otago Rally will run over the weekend of April 1 and 2.
WRC shaping up as a cracker
All three WRC teams will head into the 2023 season with drivers capable of challenging for the title, making it the most anticipated season since 2017.
M-Sport Ford’s recent signing of Ott Tanak immediately puts them in the running for the title, alongside Toyota (Kalle Rovanpera) and Hyundai (Thierry Neuville).
The Ford squad also announced this week that Frenchman Pierre-Louis Loubet would drive their second car next year, after some stellar drives this season.
Entries have now closed for the season opener, the Monte Carlo Rally, in January.
Sebastien Ogier will contest the rally for Toyota as he aims to win it for ninth time, although it has not yet been announced whether 2022 victor, Sebastien Loeb, will return and push for his ninth victory on one of the WRC’s marquee events.
Rally New Zealand will not form part of the WRC schedule in 2023, but teams will contest 13 events over an 11-month period, finishing in Japan in November.
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