The vintage rally for adventurous spirits
More than 100 people with an “adventurous spirit”, a vintage pre-1932 car and a free weekend in April have signed up to drive through the back roads of Manawatū in a rally designed just for vintage cars.
The Manawatū Vintage Car Club has organised the event to run over April 27 and 28, with plans to have participants travel on back roads and through farms in order to imitate the terrain the cars were built to drive in.
Club chairperson Derek Haycock said the inspiration for the rally came from a well-known South Island rally called the Irishman.
“Some of the North Island people decided we needed a similar event up here.”
It’s not the first time that the club has attempted to put on a vintage car rally.
Over the past two years, the club has tried to put on more events for the community but Covid-19 restrictions thwarted those plans.
The last two rallies were held out of Taihape in 2020 and 2021.
This year’s rally will be the first one held in Feilding, and 103 people have already signed up to take part.
“It’s based around driving round back roads, as many back roads as possible, through farms and farm tracks … It’s for people with an adventurous spirit.”
Haycock said they’ve been granted access to about four farms out the back of Āpiti that’ll take drivers on an adventure.
“We’re covering a reasonable area over the two days.”
Haycock has had so many farmers volunteer their land that he has enough to run this year's event and another rally in 2025. Vintage car enthusiasts will be coming from as far afield as Queenstown, with 10 people making the trip up from the South Island for the event.
For those who may have missed out on driving their vintage car in the rally, Haycock said there will be plenty of opportunity to view the cars as they drive through the main street of Feilding at about 8am on Saturday morning.
“More than welcome to come down to the start and watch everyone, it’ll be quite early both mornings.”
Each drive over the weekend will begin at the Coach House Museum car park at 7.30am.