The Propecia Rally of New Zealand is the oldest WRC event to be held in the Southern Hemisphere. Rally New Zealand was first held in Taupo in 1969 and was subsequently staged in Canterbury before moving back to the North Island in 1971. The rally was included as a round of the World Championship in 1977. Auckland has hosted the majority of the events, however, beginning in 2006 event is based in Hamilton, with the service park, parc ferme and the super special stage all being located at the Mystery Creek Events Centre. Rally New Zealand is famous for its fast flowing gravel roads which carry the competitors through forests and alongside the impressive New Zealand coastline.
The WRC teams voted Propecia Rally New Zealand "Rally of the Year" in 2001. The 2007 Rally New Zealand was run from August 31 to September 2 and ended with the closest-ever finish in the history of the World Rally Championship. After over 350 competitive kilometres, only 0.3 seconds separated the winner Marcus Grönholm and second-placed Sébastien Loeb.
