Other drivers’ likely to figure at the head of the PCWRC pack include reigning Production champion, Toshi Arai, Aki Teiskonen, Mirco Baldacci, Leszek Kuzaj and
Jari-Matti Latvala. Latvala will be especially confident having taken his maiden victory in the PCWRC in Australia last month: "The win in Oz was so important to me. I've been waiting three years for it! I've had such a difficult season and it was a real boost for my self confidence," said the Finn. "Now I believe in myself more than ever!”
New Zealand Rally champion Richard Mason and 2004 champion Chris West could also spring a surprise and they will both enjoy their status as ‘guest entrants’ in the PCWRC.
One of the world’s fastest lady drivers, Britain’s Natalie Barratt meanwhile will also rejoin the Production WRC series in NZ. Barratt is a big fan of the Rally New Zealand and usually goes well carrying the fight to the men. Another British driver, Nigel Heath, will also tackle the event, and like Barratt, he will use a Mitsubishi Lancer.
Tango Rally Team trio Gabriel Pozzo, Marcos Ligato and Sebastian Beltran were due to compete, however they will not be in action. They were all excluded from the
entire 2006 PCWRC after their cars were found to contravene the regulations in Australia.
Other significant entries:
Around 44 crews will take part in the Rally New Zealand, a similar amount
roughly speaking as to that which competed in Mexico [41], Cyprus [50] and Monte Carlo [51] – although only 11, however, will be in WRC cars.
The only non-manufacturer entry in a WRC car is
MotoGP ace,
Valentino Rossi, who will use a 2005-spec
Subaru Impreza. Rossi’s car, which is a private entry, will be run by Prodrive, the same outfit that looks after the works Impreza’s for
Petter Solberg and
Chris Atkinson.
