Morrie Chandler was a rare breed: a global sports administrator who actually cut his teeth as a competitor before moving into officiating. He was passionate about his sport, rather than the business of his sport.
The rallying world is in mourning after the New Zealander’s death at 85; he’s being honoured globally as a figure whose influence on rallying, and motorsport in general, spanned more than 50 years.
Rallying was a driving passion for Chandler. It was his understanding of what it was like to be a competitor first that made him one of the best rallying administrators both here in New Zealand and internationally. He reached his pinnacle first as the president of the World Rally Championship and then as a vice-president of the FIA World Motorsport Council.
Chandler’s influence often flew under the radar; his reputation was built on hard work, authority and total belief and commitment to the sport he loved. His influence was felt in the corridors of power at motorsport’s global governing body, the FIA; at home he was the architect and driving force behind what New Zealand rallying is today.
Chandler had the rare gift of being able to pull together and get alignment from competitors, clubs, officials, governing bodies and sponsors to ensure the overall rallying scene prospered, rather just select individuals or groups. He was the consummate connector, and not a governor or manager.
One of Chandler’s more meaningful contributions to rallying in this part of the world was convincing the FIA to establish the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, a series won by both Possum Bourne and Hayden Paddon, as well as former WRC champion Carlos Sainz.
He also helped create the Pirelli Star Driver scheme, which helped fund entry to the WRC for five drivers from different regions around the world over three seasons, including Paddon and the 2019 world champion Ott Tanak. Often forgotten is that Chandler was appointed a Formula One steward in 1998.
MotorSport New Zealand president Deborah Day paid tribute to Chandler’s legacy.
“Morrie Chandler was one of the most influential figures our sport has ever known,” she said.
“His leadership, vision, and tireless commitment helped shape not only motorsport in New Zealand, but across the world. He gave so much to the sport he loved, and his legacy will continue to inspire generations to come.”
Chandler started his rallying life as a competitor in early Heatway Rallies, which morphed into the Rally of New Zealand where he raced every year from 1971 until 1983. His first forays were as part of the local works Skoda teams, until he switched to Mitsubishis in 1977. Competing from 1975 until 1985, he finished with several top-10 placings and class victories. He also set up a New Zealand franchise with Mitsubishi Motors Japan to run the Mitsubishi Ralliart operation in New Zealand during the 1990s.
At the end of his competitive years, Chandler was Clerk of the Course for the Rally of New Zealand and the event chairman from 1984 until 2006. During the same period, he served on the FIA Rallies Commission until 2006, and the WRC Commission from 2002 until 2010, including being president from 2006 until 2010.
Chandler joined the FIA World Motorsport Council in 1996, before being elected vice-president for sport in 2006.
In 1997, Chandler was appointed as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in acknowledgement of his service to New Zealand and global motorsport. In 1998, he was made President d’Honneur of Motorsport New Zealand. The Halberg Awards recognised his lifelong contribution with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.
Chandler was cut from a different cloth from many of today’s motorsport administrators, where rules and regulations are the driving force. He was from an era where competition and nurturing talent mattered most. Chandler did not merely influence the sport; he shaped it, built it and drove it forward.
His legacy is in the Kiwi gravel roads that became famous around the world, in the events that earned international respect, and in the structures that strengthened rallying here in New Zealand and around the world.