Hayden Paddon has unveiled a new car and new team to drive on local roads, but the ultimate goal is to bring international rallying back to New Zealand.
"That's where my father got involved in rallying by going to watch Rally NZ back in the '80s and getting that bug. If he wasn't rallying back then I wouldn't be standing here. It's a big part of people getting involved in the sport, seeing the pinnacle of the sport on your own doorstep," Paddon said.
"All the drivers and teams want to come here, we have the best roads and facilities in the world. We just have to try and convince the powers that be that it should be here."
Rally New Zealand last appeared on the World Rally Championship calendar in 2012.
Despite his own rise through the WRC ranks, the Geraldine driver is looking forward to debuting the new car - a Hyundai i20 AP4 - at next month's Rally Otago and then Rally Whangarei.
"New Zealand for me is the core of rallying, it's where it all begun. I want to help the sport down here as much as I can, so obviously any things we could be doing like this - along with Hyundai NZ - is going to help bring back Rally New Zealand. That's got to be the ultimate goal for the future and we have to keep working towards that."
The new car has a familiar look to Paddon's full WRC car, but that's where the similarities end.
"Underneath, the design concept is the same as a WRC car but a lot more to a budget. A WRC car's a best part of $1 million, we're trying to build something here that's less than a quarter of that to make it a viable option for Kiwis. It'll still be good fun to drive though, we'll still go sideways and have some fun."
Next month Paddon will be back on the WRC circuit for Rally Argentina. He's currently fifth in the standings after 3 events, including a second place finish in Sweden.
"Been an up and down start to the year, obviously the podium in Sweden was a highlight. Mexico was tough going. The new car and everything's progressing well and the team's backing ourselves to be on the top step of the podium this year."
Newshub.