KEY POINTS:
A 43.88km monster special stage south of Pirongia on the first day of Rally New Zealand today could prove decisive in the world championship event.
The field of 44 will tackle the testing Te Koraha stage twice, from 10.31 am and 3.48 pm, with the opportunity during more than half an hour of almost continuous twists and turns for someone to take a commanding lead.
Simo Lampinen, who inspected the stage for the world body a few weeks ago, was thrilled, suggesting drivers would need to be very fit to cope with two passes of such a demanding test.
And former New Zealand rally champion Neil Allport, who compiled pace notes for the organisers, reckons it will test the ability of co-drivers to learn enough from the reconnaissance to keep their drivers on the pace.
The stage begins at Te Rauamoa, dropping down through the Pirongia Forest Park to a valley floor before climbing out to finish not far from the Waitomo Caves. The early parts have flowing curves but there are some tight corners towards the end. The road surface is gravel, with occasional patches of rock.
Weather conditions will be important. If it is dry, Marcus Gronholm (Ford) will have the disadvantage of running first and clearing the gravel for his rivals, particularly Petter Solberg (Subaru), who will be fifth on the road. On a wet road Gronholm will avoid any deterioration in the surface.
Te Koraha was last used for Rally New Zealand in 1998 and it proved decisive in one of the most tightly-contested rallies in the history of the event.
The stage that year was 3km shorter and run in the opposite direction. French Toyota driver Didier Auriol had built up a 30s lead over his Spanish team-mate Carlos Sainz during the first couple of days of the rally on rain-drenched Northland roads.
But during the first pass of Te Koraha on the final day, the Frenchman left the road and lost his lead despite being pushed out of a ditch by four burly locals. The two Toyota drivers exchanged the lead over the final stages before Sainz won his fourth Rally New Zealand by just 4.1s.
Fastest on the first pass was Scotsman Colin McRae in 34m 16.1s at the wheel of a Subaru with Sainz second. Richard Burns in a Mitsubishi entered the stage third but rolled and slipped back to 15th.
World champion Tommi Makinen in a Mitsubishi was quickest on the second pass and finished the rally third ahead of former champion Juha Kankkunen in a Ford.
Of the current international drivers only Gronholm, Austrian Manfred Stohl and Japan's Toshi Arai competed in 1998. Gronholm, who must be favourite this year in a Ford, didn't make it to Te Koraha eight years ago as his Toyota dropped out with engine trouble.
Locals Chris West and Malcolm Stewart drove in 1998 and are back this time, with Subaru's West a contender in the World Production Car category. Auriol's co-driver eight years ago, Denis Giraudet, returns in a production car with Takuma Kamada.
And Tony Sircombe, who grew up in the area, will guide Arai, who could well be the quickest production car driver.
Standings
Drivers' Championship
1. Sebastian Loeb (Fr, Citroen) 1122. Marcus Gronholm (Fin, Ford) 91
3. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin, Ford) 57
4. Dani Sordo (Sp, Citroen) 43
5. Manfred Stohl (Aut, Peugeot) 40
6. Petter Solberg (Nor, Subaru) 31
Manufacturers' Championship
1. Ford 167pts2. Citroen 151
3. Subaru 94
4. Peugeot 73
Production Cars
1. Nasser Al-Attiyah (Qatar, Subaru) 38
2. Fumio Nutahara (Jpn, Mitsubishi) 32
3. Mirco Baldacci (S. Mar, Mitsubishi) 27
