 Welcome to the biggest ever field assembled in New Zealand for a gravel rally. Hi I'm Craig Lord and it's my privilege to bring you coverage this weekend of the Otago Classic Rally. There is 80 NZRC cars and 50 classic cars. They are here now Saturday morning queuing up, ready to go. But it all started last night. It was a huge turn out in the Octagon and it gave the locals a chance to see the machinery up close. They also had the opportunity to meet some of the rallying stars. Like Irishman Frank Kelly here in New Zealand for the first time. And whilst he's in an escort he'll be fighting for honours in the main game, rather than the classics. But have no fear, he will be a crowd pleaser. And even though Kelly may not be racing directly within the classics, he's still in the company of fellow Ford Escort drivers, like Marco Martin, the Estonian driver returning to defend his title. Last year we had a very nice rally, a lot of fun. And we really enjoyed New Zealand roads. And very glad that we are invited back for second year to defend our victory. So we'll try to have fun and do good result this time as well. Over the years this classic rally has attracted some of the world's top drivers, with many from across the Tasman. And now the four-time Australian rally champion Simon Evans has arrived to see if he can tame the revered Otago roads from behind the wheel of a Datsun. These roads are amazing. They're just so spectacular, especially down south. And then the forests around here, they're just really tricky and really tight in spots. And then you get out into the big paddocks and it's super fast. It's going to be a great event. It's not all about the overseas entries though, with plenty of New Zealand's talent on show, doing everything they can to keep the silverware at home, like three-time winner Derek Aisin. Well obviously we've been chasing elusive fourth title for a few years so nothing will be different this year, we'll certainly try our best. And having Marco better than he's certainly fast, the show just paced last year as well, and he was obviously winning it for quite a margin. So we know he'll be quick. You know, Simon Evans, he'll be fast as well. And Frank Kelly is obviously not in our class, but he'll be pretty quick too. So it'll be good fun actually, particularly in the classics. So now the cars are heading off to start rallying proper. Six gravel special stages today, followed by the Tarmac Super Stage and the Dunedin Warf Area, beside the Anzac Ave over-bridge later this afternoon. So stay tuned and we will bring you updates across the weekend.