Time to relax after rally | Manawatu-Wanganui News | Local News in Manawatu-Wanganui

VCC Rally 2012 organisers set their village up in the rain and yesterday they were packing up in it, too.

Admittedly tired, event director Bruce Hutton said although there was much paperwork that still needed to be tidied up, he was planning to head home to Woodville on Wednesday, and was looking forward to some rest and relaxation. He will also now have the chance to meet his first grandchild, who was born in Australia just before Christmas.

Troublesome weather was the only major downside to this year's international rally, Mr Hutton said. But it clearly had no effect on entrants' enjoyment of the rally, with organisers receiving nothing but positive feedback on the event.

On Thursday night, a successful official closing ceremony was held in Springvale Stadium. Mr Hutton said he and the rest of those in charge of co-ordinating the rally in Wanganui hope to have broken the back of packing up the Springvale Park venue by this afternoon.

He said a review of the event, in conjunction with major sponsors, would also now be completed ahead of the next international VCC rally in Dunedin.

The number of entrants, at 697, was down on earlier expectations because of the recession and earthquakes in Canterbury, the region where a quarter of all VCC members live. However, the open day at Wanganui Racecourse, which was pitched as a family-orientated event, had been incredibly well-received.