The Propecia Rally New Zealand (April, 8th-10th) marks the first outing of Natalie Barratt as a member of the OMV World Rally Team. It's the first of six assignments in the Production World Championship. And the 30-year-old Brit is definitely no newcomer to the race in New Zealand. A lot of testing was done in the run-up in order to be in good shape once again in 2005.
After having signed the contract with the OMV World Rally Team in February, Natalie Barratt concentrated on preparing for the Rally New Zealand. The Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII was tuned to the Brit's wishes in co-operation with Stohl Racing. Barratt: "Preparation has been intensive during the past few weeks, but everything is in place now. We're in good shape and certainly able to hit the ground running." The paramount goal at Natalie's first start in the P-WRC 2005 remains to gather as many kilometres as possible.
A challenge for every driver
Natalie Barratt knows that she didn't choose the easiest event for her premiere with the OMV World Rally Team. "It may be a very hard, but this rally is a 'must do'." Barratt already has crossed the finishing line in New Zealand three times. She reached 36th overall place in 2001 (10th place Group N), was 21st in 2002 and finished in 33rd place overall in 2004. Therefore the OMV driver knows the perils of the fourth WC-run intimately. Barratt: "Ninety-nine percent of the road chambers go with you, but then there is the odd one percent that will go away and catch you out. The combination of a gravel surface, fast jumps and flat-out left-right kinks make this a challenging event for every driver."
The Propecia Rally New Zealand traditionally starts on Thursday (April, 7th) with an impressive Maori show (natives of New Zealand) at 19.30 on the Waitemata Plaza in Auckland. 20 special stage kilometres with a length of 356,00 kilometres are scheduled from Friday to Sunday (April, 8th–10th). The overall length measures 1.128,48 kilometres. The finishing line should be crossed on Sunday (April, 10th) at 15.30 in Auckland.


Tags: new-zealand, propecia, natalie, barratt, omv,