Motorsport: Racers, classics and bangers rally together

Open wheelers will be taking to the track. Photo / Paul Estcourt

Circuit-racing fans will not be disappointed at the big banger line-up.

Round two of the national rally championship, Rally New Zealand, launches into action this weekend at Hampton Downs and incorporates the Rally New Zealand Historic Rally and the Possum Bourne Memorial Rally.

A specific Rally New Zealand race preview will be in the Weekend Herald this Saturday, and in the run-up to the annual event Driven is taking a look at all the other entertainment available around the main event and how fans can get to see the best of the rally and drivers in action.

The free ceremonial start, and driver autograph-signing session, begins at the Manukau City Centre on Friday at 6pm. Fans will be able to watch competitors cross the start ramp to officially start this year's Rally New Zealand.

On Saturday, access to rural rally stages is via gold-coin donation to support the community groups that help with event parking and safety marshalling.

Action gets under way at 8am at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park with competitors heading west towards Port Waikato for three stages - Te Akau North, New Baker and New Franklin - before a super special stage on the Hampton Downs track.

After the lunchtime service break, crews repeat the four stages in the afternoon. Saturday's 148km completes the action for competitors in the Possum Bourne Memorial Rally field, who wrap up the day with a prize-giving at the Pukekohe Car Club.

In between each super special stage, the final rounds of the BMC race series take place. Classic car fans will delight in the on-track action from star cars that include Tony Robert's Chevrolet Corvette, Racing Ray Williams' Porsche, and Jaguars, Ferraris, Datsun Zs, Lancias, Ford Escorts, MGBs and Fiats.

On Sunday, the start time is again 8am with competitors heading southwest to tackle five stages around Raglan, including the iconic Whaanga Coast stage. They return to Hampton Downs for a final super special stage starting at 4pm before the finish ceremony and prizegiving at 5:30pm.

Wrapped around the rally action is the High Octane on Hampton day with a huge variety of motorsport, competitions and displays, including New Zealand's first Gymkhana X competition. This is a Ken Block-style event where competitors negotiate a technical course on the Hampton Downs skidpan while racing against the clock.

Also, there's the Gran Turismo 5 competition. Open to all (event ticket must be purchased for access to competition area), entrants drive the HKS Racing Performer CT230R on Vision Racer simulation units and attempt to do the fastest lap on the Tsukuba Circuit. The entrant with the fastest lap time will win $500 cash and a special Sony prize. Then the top eight competitors race off, "driving" Sebastien Loeb's 2010 Citroen WRC car on a Gran Turismo gravel rally stage. All eight finalists receive prizes with the winner receiving $500 cash, $100 fuel vouchers and a special Sony prize pack including a PS3 console.

The creme of New Zealand's drifting crop will be attacking the track twice during the day in D1NZ Drift Demo sessions.

Circuit-racing fans will not be disappointed at the big banger line-up set to compete in three class categories. See classic and modern muscle cars, sports and GTs and open-wheeler racing from a specially invited field of Formula 5000s and Atlantics.

One hundred modified high-performance street cars will be on static display and taking part in circuit lapping during the lunchbreak.