RallySport Magazine November 2016

INTERVIEW: SIMON BELL
“We’d love to
see the ARC
grow, and we
are only too
happy to talk
to them ...”
possibly is where the ARC needs to
head with their strategy.
We have created a transition for
our sport from the Group A / Group
N based fleet to something new, the
next generation of cars, be that the AP4
based or showroom based cars like Ben
Hunt’s exciting new Subaru.
It’s working well and has helped
teams to be able to run older cars for
a time, which has given them some
breathing space to make decisions on
which way to go with new cars.
To be honest, we’d love to see the
ARC grow, and we are only too happy
to talk to them about what’s working
over here, as strong championships in
Australia and New Zealand can only be
good for the sport.
So yes, the NZRC is going well, but
there has been a massive amount of
work done to get it here from many
people, from competitors to MSNZ, and
everyone’s been positive.
We are all working towards making
our sport grow and being more exciting
in the long term.
Does the NZRC’s variation in events, with
some two-day and some one-day events, help
to increase the variety of rallies, and control
the cost of competing?
The NZRC is the pinnacle of rallying
in New Zealand. So there needs to be
a mix of events, where you have to be
reliable and manage the pace of the car
over two days.
Or like we saw at Coromandel, you
have to have the foot down from the
start, flinch once and you have lost 10
seconds and it’s all over.
Part of what we asked events was,
rather than be burdened with NZRC
rules on how to run an NZRC event, we
took off the shackles so to speak, and
said ‘give us events with flavour, with
spice and that have real character’.
I think we have that, the events have
really done some great things and
continue to, plus the mix is about right.
But, as always in any motor based
sport, cost is always an issue and
something we do take seriously. You
also have to temper that with the fact
this is the top of the sport in NZ, so it
won’t ever be cheap.
Australia has six state championships that
can take competitors away from the national
series. New Zealand doesn’t – does this help
to increase your competitor numbers?
I guess this comes down to
geography, as New Zealand is small
so it’s easier to travel, but we do have
regional rounds like Australia and they
are part of some of the NZRC rounds.
We have the Top Half / Central Region
and Mainland rally series, of which all
three have a lot of fantastic history, but
they are more focused on the clubman
type competitor.
We have also developed an entry
class into the NZRC via the Gull Rally
Challenge. That has helped us introduce
teams to the NZRC. They don’t have to
do the full six rounds, plus it’s cheaper
and the cars are running to the regional
championship Schedule A rules.
This class has brought through a few
new competitors, and some we have
are crazy quick in older cars. One has
stepped up to NZRC for 2017 with a
new car, so it appears to be working.
We have also introduced the Group
A Classic 4WD Challenge to again give
teams a chance to be part of the NZRC,
and that’s hopefully another stepping
stone, from a classic 4WD to a newer
4WD, and then perhaps the top class.
It gives some progression through
the sport at the NZRC level, at differing
budgets levels.
Where we are struggling a bit, and it
is something we are working on, is the
2WD classes, and how to make them
more appealing. But we have some
ideas, so watch this space.
What are some of the ideas you have to
help ensure that the NZRC continues to grow
and that the current wave of interest can be
maintained?
The main component is effective and
relevant content and marketing. And
not traditional marketing, but looking at
new avenues, providing good content
and listening to our audience.
For example, the content we supply
RallySport Magazine. Blair Bartels does
an incredible job managing and writing
these for us, and coupled with the great
images from the NZRC photographer,
Geoff Ridder, it works really well and
the feedback has been great.
This is a new channel for us and
provides a great platform to show off
the events and teams to NZ/Australian
audiences, plus the wider global
audience you have.
Our on-event @RallyLiveNZ live
streams have been a massive success
and continue to grow, with over 13,000
views @ Rally Whangarei.
The feedback while it is running
(from all around the globe too, which
has really amazed us) has been
tremendous. We can give up-to-theminute
splits – all while in the back
blocks of somewhere, standing on a
grass hill, watching cars and providing
what we are told is great commentary
– watch some from Rally of Whangarei
here.
Obviously, the big challenge is the
Find us at: www.chicane.co.nz
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22 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016