KEY POINTS:
The possibility of winning the Pirelli star driver award is providing young Kiwi rally stars with added impetus to do well in the NAC Insurance Hella International Rally of Whangarei this weekend.
Hayden Paddon, Mark Tapper and Kirsty Nelson, with five other drivers under 27, have registered for
the Pirelli star driver award, a world-wide search for five young rally drivers; one each from the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa regions and two from Europe.
The Rally of Whangarei is the first qualifying event for the search. Entrants will be assessed via a separate points rating over the two days.
The top two Pirelli award drivers then receive financial assistance to contest the second qualifying event, Rally Malaysia, in October this year.
The winner in Malaysia, the Asia Pacific Pirelli star driver, will join the other four regional winners to contest six FIA World Rally Championship events in 2009 in a dedicated Pirelli-funded rally team.
Eligible drivers have until this Friday to confirm their entry in the Pirelli competition.
To qualify, drivers must be aged under 27 on January 1 this year and run a four-wheel-drive or two-wheel-drive Group N car, says Laurie Brenssell, chairman of the Rally of Whangarei organising committee.
"It's the most fantastic opportunity for one of New Zealand's young rally stars to break into the world rally scene."
During the event, the young Kiwi stars will take on drivers from Australia, India, Indonesia and Japan competing in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC).
The Whangarei event is the third round of the APRC with Australian Dean Herridge leading the points table in the Cusco Racing Subaru.
Another Australian, Cody Crocker, is aiming to win the APRC for the third time this year, but the former Possum Bourne protégé is third on points with Japanese driver Katsu Taguchi second. Last year Paddon, then 20, outshone the APRC drivers to take the overall victory in Whangarei, so the question will be whether or not the talented driver from Geraldine can do it again.
UP AND AT 'EM
The competitors registered for the Pirelli star driver competition in Whangarei at this stage are:
Hayden Paddon, 21, Geraldine
Mark Tapper, 27, Auckland
Kirsty Nelson, 18, Whangarei
Sloan Cox, 16, Rotorua
Andre Meier, 19, Cambridge
Patrick Malley, 24, Auckland
Ben Jagger, 18, Whangarei
Brendan Reeves, 20, Wedderburn, Victoria, Australia