Motorsport: Rally New Zealand's return confirmed as 2022 World Rally Championship calendar finalised

Rally New Zealand will return to the FIA's World Rally Championship calendar in 2022, a decade after it was last staged.

Announced on Saturday, Auckland will host next year's 11th round of the 2022 world championship, to be held from September 29 to October 2.

The New Zealand stage was supposed to make its return in 2020, only to be scratched due to the logistical challenges the COVID-19 pandemic brought with it.

But with the 2022 WRC calendar now ratified by the FIA, New Zealand's return has been confirmed.

"We are absolutely delighted to share this terrific news with rally fans and the wider community," Rally New Zealand chairman Peter Johnston says.

"We have worked so hard and waited so long for this moment. We got agonisingly close to having the WRC return last year before COVID interrupted and so this feels so rewarding knowing we will get to run one of the country's most iconic sporting events once again.

"We are so grateful the WRC promoter has decided to bring the championship back to New Zealand and can't wait to get working on the finer details in the coming months."

A total of 13 rounds will make up the 2022 WRC calendar, starting with Monte Carlo in January and finishing in Japan in November.