Motorsport: Rally a trip back to yesteryear with scenery at its best

Cars for the Drive NZ Classic Rally include Jaguars, a Daimler and Range Rover.

It's billed as 5500km of spectacular scenery, with 500km of closed stages and seven outings on race tracks - that's the Drive NZ Classic Rally, a 17-day tour of the North and South Islands.

The rally gets under way at Pukekohe race track on October 9 and finishes back in the Auckland region on Labour Weekend, with participation in the Waiuku Classic Festival on the Saturday and track time on the new Hampton Downs circuit on Sunday, October 25.

Lotus importer and rally organiser Roger Phillips said the main focus is to stimulate a nostalgic motoring experience, using "traffic-free New Zealand roads and scenery in the spring, when the vista is at its most impressive and the tourist season is off-peak".

Special stages include a 17km run near Rotorua; 27km over the Akaroa Summit; 38km at Cardrona; 20km near Otorohanga. Track days also include Taupo, Manfeild, Ruapuna and Teretonga.

Entries for the event will be wrapped up this week.