It’s WRC time. Wet. Rainy. Challenging.

The anticipation is building and not even the miserable weather forecast will dampen the enthusiasm of New Zealand’s WRC fans.

It’s been 10 years – 10 long years – since the world’s best drivers (Hayden Paddon aside) have set foot on Kiwi shores, and there’s an excitement like never before.

When Rally New Zealand was last held in 2012, little did we know that the World Rally Championship was about to depart these shores for a decade.

It’s true, a year on, year off deal with Rally Australia was never going to work, but many factors outside the control of Motor Sport New Zealand would play their part.

COVID-19 was the biggest, and most unpredictable of those, but those days seem behind us now and we can now be fully focused for the next week of WRC action.

It reminds me of a Rally New Zealand slogan from years gone by: “Flat out on metal roads”.

And it will be.

The forecast is horrendous though. Depending on which forecast you look at, there’s significant rain on the way, adding to already wet conditions.

It really does beg the question about where the best place to be on the road is.

If it was going to be dry, Kalle Rovanpera would be at a distinct disadvantage running car one, and Sebastien Ogier in the perfect place running eighth.

But if the weather is THAT wet, Ogier’s position could well be disadvantageous, and third placed Ott Tanak or fourth placed Elfyn Evans could reap the rewards.

For Rovanpera though, I think his goose is cooked regardless.

We won’t know until the rally gets underway and the weather does its thing, but one thing’s for sure, the rain will surely have an impact on the results.

I’m sure we’d all like a dry rally for spectating, but spring is generally the most unpredictable season of the year. Even Rally Australia in Perth was often hampered by rain in September.

So will the bad weather impact crowd numbers? Certainly not for the diehards, but for those fence-sitters who don’t live and breathe rallying, then it may mean that they stay home where it’s warm and dry.

Not me though. I’ll be there will bells on, wet weather gear on, camera around the neck, and lapping up every second of it.

We only get one chance a year (or one chance in 10 years) to see our WRC heroes in action. A little precipitation isn’t going to keep me away!