We spice up a rainy afternoon with the Whangarei Rally. I was not sure what to expect other than cars racing on a gravel track. Boy, was I misinformed!
Let me explain the difference between a road rally and track racing (for those of you who are unaware, like me).
Track Racing
Track racing is direct competition against other cars on a continuous, predefined closed circuit.
Drivers compete against each other and rely on their own personal knowledge of the track and their own sight.
Car Rallies
Car rallies, like we saw, involves racing against the clock on a variety of surfaces (road, gravel, dirt). There is a driver and co-driver who navigate public roads and off-road courses using pace notes to guide them through turns and hazards.
Competitors race on a point-to-point course, which can be both sealed (paved), unsealed (gravel, dirt), public and private roads.
Rally drivers race against the clock and rely on their co-driver for navigation and pace.
Their goal is to arrive at the end of the segment on the designated time.
If they arrive before or after they will be penalized.
The cars must meet all open road requirements (street legal). Which means, when the cars are transiting from point A to point B on the open road, they must adhere standard laws.
Any type of car can enter the rally as long as they meet all racing standards including a roll cage and fire protection.
These rally cars can be standard modified cars or street legal rally cars.
Whangarei Rally Getting Started
So much anticipation…which way do the cars come? Will they get “air” when they go over the incline? Will they slide out around the corners? Can we see the finish line?
We asked some spectators which route the cars take and quickly learned we did not want to be near the finish line. The fun, more spectacular viewing was on the track by a sharp corner and small incline.
We had two safety cars car run the track to ensure the track was good before the race started. Then the “0” car came out to run the track at the speed of the rally cars.
There are 2 days of racing with 10 segments the first day and 8 segments the second day. We watched the last 2 segments around the gravel track on the first day.
If you look at the Whangarei Rally map (see link below) you will notice that most of the segments are on the road.
Let the Race Begin
The entry fee was $20NZD which benefits a variety of local charities. Each charity sends volunteers to work the event.
We find a spot on the grassy hill just in front of the sharp turn and the small incline. The Whangarei Rally drew about 450-400 people spread throughout the track and on the bridge overlooking the finish line.
The officials stagger the start of the cars every 30-45 seconds behind the previous car. The staggered start time ensures the dust clears – giving full visibility to the next driver.
The cars race in front of us and as you can see they come in all shapes and sizes.
The top left (white car) and bottom right (Skoda car) are zipping around the hair pin turn and kicking up lots of dust and gravel.
The first turn is right after a straight and most, if not all cars created a mast dust up.
After the 2 segments which took about 1.5 hours we went to the staging area to meet the teams.
Vanuatu and New Caledonia both had cars racing in this event! Each team leaves the cars in Whangarei while the drivers fly in for the races.
Ask me how I managed to score a Vanuatu Rally Car pink hat 🙂
Whangarei Rally Links
- Whangarei Rally History and Information
- Whangarei Map and Spectator Viewing
- Whangarei Rally in Whangarei
We spent the next day listening to the rally cars racing on the streets.
We watched the Whangarei Rally cars in early November 2025.
Our blog posts run 4-6 weeks behind actual live events.
The last scheduled blog post was on Fiji Day. Don’t miss out on this annual traditional celebration.