The Catlins Coast Rally is back!

MEDIA RELEASE
20 JULY 2009

The Catlins Coast Rally is back!

This year's Catlins Coast Rally is scheduled to take place on Saturday 1 August. The popular rally, organised by the Eastern Southland Car Club, has become a bi-annual event since the club resurrected the Gore Rally for their 50th Anniversary Celebrations in 2006. The Gore Rally also proved to be extremely popular so the club decided to alternate the rally venue each year from that point on.

Therefore the last time the Catlins Coast Rally was held was two year's ago when Nelson driver Kieran Hall took victory. The success of the event was confirmed when it was voted the best rally of the 2007 Mainland Rally Series, not the first time the rally had received that accolade.

Last year the club's major rally returned to Gore, Christchurch driver Deane Buist taking the win while local driver Paul Cross was a very popular runner-up.

There are many changes to this year's event with only the popular Cannibal Bay Stage being unchanged. However the changes will not detract from the character of the rally. Far from it in fact as an exciting new Super Special Stage in the heart of Balclutha will add a spectacular conclusion to the event.

The new stage is a 1.05 kilometre blast through the Riverside Reserve. The new stage is the final test of the rally and will provide superb spectator viewing right in the centre of the South Otago town.

The first car will leave the start at Owaka Motors in Campbell Street Owaka at 9am on Saturday 1 August with eight Special Stages over 157 kilometres of high speed competition ahead.

The first Special Stage at Puketiro includes several tight, twisty sections within it's 26.06 kilometre distance. Next up is the MacLennan Stage over a new combination of great roads. The Cannibal Bay Stage follows before the cars travel to the Tawanui/Catlins Valley area for Stage 4.

From there it is on to another fresh arrangement of roads at Burnt Flat before the fast, flowing Puerua Valley stage, the longest of the event, run this year in the opposite direction to past events. A new stage, Waitepeka, follows before the finale at the Riverside Reserve in Balclutha.

The first car is expected to cross the finish line in Glasgow Street, Balclutha just after 3.40pm.

This year's event is Round 3 of the Mainland Rally Championship and the third and final round of the Laird Motorsport Southern Rally Series.

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