he last time the World Rally Championship visited New Zealand was a decade ago. Let that sink in, a decade. It has certainly been a long time between drinks for Kiwi rally fans, but damn, was the wait worthwhile. Since 2012, in many ways it feels as if nothing much has changed in WRC. I mean, until this year one Sébastien had merely picked up where the other one left off, Malcolm Wilson still hasn’t aged a day in the last 10 years, and the Finns still provide the best sarcastic end-of-stage commentary out of anyone in the field. However, in that same breath, the reality is everything has changed. The World Rally cars now have batteries, drivers are winning rallies despite barely having their learners’ licence, and the World Rally cars are now as powerful as the Group B era, but
