Television New Zealand’s new DUKE channel will broadcast the 2016 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC). Available on Freeview 13, SKY channel 23 and live streamed via watchduke.co.nz, DUKE is free-to-air channel with a range of programming from sports to entertainment.
With New Zealand hosting the opening round of the 2016 APRC on 30th April in Whangarei and Kiwi Mike Young one of the championship’s top drivers, DUKE couldn’t be a better home for the seven-part series.
After the New Zealand opener, comes the International Rally of Queensland, Australia followed by the China Rally – this year’s event located near the Mongolian border. Japan’s northern most island of Hokkaido is host to the next event, followed by the extreme heat and humidity of the Malaysian Rally with the finale in December, the Rally of India. Moving through six countries and covering two continents, the logistics alone make the APRC one of the most challenging FIA sanctioned motorsports championships in the world.
Winner of Motorsports NZ’s Elite Motorsport academy in 2015, 23-year old Kiwi driver Mike Young has finished second outright in the APRC for the past two years and is the youngest driver to win the FIA Asia Cup. In 2016 Young will drive a Group N Subaru Impreza for the Japanese based Cusco EZY Racing team. Young’s co-driver in the APRC is fellow New Zealander Malcolm Read.
Along with the Kiwi crew, the APRC attracts top competitors from Japan, India, China, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and this year a challenge from Europe with German driver Fabian Kreim lined up to pilot one of the factory backed MRF Skoda Fabia R5’s.
TVNZ’s Executive Vice President for Sports, John West, says: “We couldn’t ask for a better way to get the season coverage underway on DUKE with the championships starting on home turf. Motorsport has a committed following in New Zealand and we expect viewer interest will be at a high. DUKE’s live streaming puts fans in the driving seat with greater viewing choice – you can watch on your mobile device or desktop or watch on TV. And however you watch, with us it’s all available free-to-view.”
“The APRC is broadcast all through the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the Americas to millions of viewers. Having a channel like DUKE broadcast the APRC TV series through New Zealand is fantastic news for the sport. With all the events in different countries and continents, there’s a cultural and geographic element to the TV programmes as well as the action and excitement”, said Brian Young director of APRC Television and Media.
Checkout Duke channel ON-line here (Note regional restrictions apply): www.watchduke.co.nz
