After a three month long interval since the previous round in Greece, round five of the 2007 FIA Production car World Rally Championship (PWRC) was held in the Southern Hemisphere and its host town was Hamilton in North Island, New Zealand.

The summer of 2007 was exceptionally hot in Japan and some new heat records were set. However, August in New Zealand is winter time in the Southern Hemisphere. Although it isn't normally covered by snow, it is still cool and the maximum temperature of the day doesn't reach 20℃ during this season. And on the weekend of the rally, the weather was unsettled so it was to be run under difficult conditions.

With the runner-up of the 2006 PWRC series Fumio Nutahara at the head of the list, many Japanese crews entered this event even though most of them were not the registered championship contenders. Many of their cars were equipped with ADVAN rally tires and some good results were expected.

As Nutahara actively takes part in both the PWRC and the Japanese Rally Championship series this year, he had to go straight to Narita Airport from Fukuoka immediately after he finished the Japanese championship event in Kyusyu to get on a flight to New Zealand. The hectic schedule meant that he couldn't take a rest at home between these two events. Because he skipped the fourth round of the PWRC, this was his first world championship event since last May.

So far, Nutahara has failed to show his true ability in both the world and the Japanese championship this year due to some hitches. Many Japanese fans expect better, because after this event in New Zealand, the next round will be his home event, Rally Japan.

The curtain of the battle rose at the ceremonial start held in the city center of Hamilton on Thursday. As Leg 1 on Friday was hit by occasional showers, the surfaces became softer and gave the competitors some trouble. But Nutahara gradually improved his pace throughout the day and finished the leg in fourth of the PWRC class.

Helped by some retirements in the higher ranks, he moved up to second at one point in Leg 2 on Saturday, but eventually finished the day in the same position as the day before.

Leg 3 on the final day saw occasional rain showers again as it did on Friday and the surfaces became slippery and unforgiving. With his car refreshed after changing the differential gear overnight, Nutahara pursued the leaders while keeping his eyes on the top three slots. However, there was no payback for his effort and he finished the rally in fifth in the PWRC class at the end of the day.

Nutahara said that the result wasn't satisfying, but he could drive in the way he thought he should in the closing phase of the rally. As the next PWRC round will be Rally Japan (which he won last year), an improved performance by the defending champion of the event can be expected.

"We brought the softer compound because it was well proven by the good result of Juho Haninnen in New Zealand last year.
"Unfortunately, with his car's condition being far from perfect, sometimes the stage times weren't as good as we expected. But it was quite significant that Nutahara continued and finished the rally with his steady driving while some of his rivals dropped out.
"Actually, he contended for third place in the closing phase, so we could say he was certainly on an upswing.
"To our regret, the final result was fifth by a narrow margin, but at least we could collect a few valuable championship points."