Thousands of hours have been poured into a 160-page book to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Otago Rally.
Otago Rally event spokesman Roger Oakley tipped his hat to journalists Peter Whitten and David Thomson, who co-edited the book, and rally enthusiast Tony Johnstone, who spent hours researching and collecting the history of the event.
‘‘It's been a massive effort — it covers our whole history,’’ Oakley said.
‘‘It kind of actually is a history of the sport for the last 50 years in New Zealand too, because the people you see in our story are the ones who also competed everywhere in New Zealand.
‘‘We’re pretty excited about it.’’
The book — complete with 800 photos — will be available to buy throughout the weekend and online as the rally gets ready for a bumper time on the Otago roads.
Oakley is rapt with how the rally is shaping with more than 9000 ‘‘bed nights’’ expected in Dunedin this weekend.
‘‘It’s shaping up really good.
‘‘There’s a lot of people in town ... so it’s got a lot for the city too.’’
The rally has more than 147 entries and has attracted 37 international teams from 11 countries — the largest international field on New Zealand soil since Rally New Zealand in 2008 — travelling the 280km course, which heads from Dunedin through the Maniototo and Lawrence.
‘‘These events are like a massive reunion, really.
‘‘Then, of course, at the heart of it all, we love the competition.
‘‘The competition’s not just for the win. There’s always the categories, and the subcategories and old rivalries and we love seeing who’s on the way up.
‘‘This is the first round of this year’s championship for New Zealand and Asia Pacific, so there’s always the news of just how they’re going to shape up this year.’’
Among those to watch is top seed Robbie Stokes, who has recovered after he crashed his Skoda Fabia Rally 2 car in a rally sprint a fortnight ago in the buildup.
Stokes confirmed this week the car had been repaired and paid tribute to a large crew who helped him reach the start line.
‘‘Just under 10 days ago we weren’t sure whether we could be lining up for the 50th anniversary of Otago Rally,’’ Stokes posted on social media.
‘‘I cannot thank you all enough for the time and effort you have put in to get the car ready.
‘‘Let’s go have some fun.’’
