𝗗𝗔𝗬𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗥 𝗥𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗜𝗦 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞!

Follow on from a successful 2023 Daybreaker Rally, the team at R2G are bringing this iconic event back again in 2024 on 13-14 September, which will again feature as Round 4 of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship.

The showcase event of Friday will again be a ceremonial start embracing and interacting with the local community. The ceremonial start will include a driver signing session, driver interviews, a car display featuring all the competitor cars and the official ceremonial start.

Saturday will see the rally teams depart from Palmerston North prior to daybreak and head out to compete on some of Manawatu and Rangitikei’s best gravel special stages.

It would not be the "iconic" Daybreaker Rally without the roads that were part of the history and success - so we will of course be including stage names that will be familiar to the avid rally fan, as part of the event's make up.

The day will conclude with a publicity-focused official finish podium and celebration.

Originally held in 1983, the Daybreaker Rally became one of New Zealand’s most iconic gravel-based competition rally events. Often over-subscribed in its peak, the uniqueness of the event and test to both driver and car made it an event that holds a lot of history. 2023 marked the 40th anniversary of the first Daybreaker Rally running in 1983.

The 2023 Daybreaker Rally was won by newly crowned European Rally Champion Hayden Paddon, and was the penultimate event on his way to winning the New Zealand Rally Championship for the seventh time. Close in second was three-time Supercars Champion Shane van Gisbergen, adding his name to the already impressive list of some of New Zealand’s most recognizable motorsport names as past competitors in Daybreaker - including the late Possum Bourne and past New Zealand Rally Championships Neil Allport, Joe McAndrew, Richard Mason, and Ben Hunt.

It is often highlighted that this rally was known to throw in a few surprises, many obtaining their first rally wins or podiums or catching out the best when least expected.

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