The Catlins Coast Rally will see a former co-driver/driver pairing fighting it out in similar machinery for the first time in five years.
First seed Derek Ayson has succumbed to the lure of 4WD once more, parking his Ford Escort in favour of a Mitsubishi Evo 8 and admitting he was keen to "have a go at the pointy end of the field again". He has one main desire come the final set of finish flags on Saturday.
"I just want to beat my old co-driver Andrew," he said, laughing.
Andrew Graves did his time in Ayson's passenger seat, until hunger to take the wheel saw him strike out on his own in a Mitsubishi Evo 3 in 2006.
The Gore drivers last did battle in evenly-matched Mitsubishis that year in the Southern Rally Series (SRS), with Ayson in an Evo 4, edging out Graves and also notching his second consecutive Mainland Rally Series win and adding the Rally Xtreme trophy to his spoils.
However, when Ayson switched to a 2WD the following year, Graves' star began to rise and he won the SRS. After a string of credible placings around the region, 2010 was his glory year, with a repeat victory in the SRS, an Allcomers section win at Rally Otago and he became the first man to win the Catlins Rally as both a driver and co-driver - as he had navigated for a victorious Ayson in 2005.
While Ayson's Asia Pacific Rally Championship-contending Evo 8 will no doubt have a technological advantage over his fifth-seeded mate's older model Evo 3, Graves has the reliability of what he insists is standard machinery on his side.
Combine that with a good dollop of hard driving and the Catlins looks set to play host to a furiously fast but good natured rivalry between the two Gore friends.
"There's the odd time I have to pull my finger out and drive the bloody doors off it," Graves said, adding that he will be doing his best to keep Ayson honest.
Also sharing his sentiments will be another former Catlins Rally winner Kieran Hall, of Nelson, in a Subaru Impreza STI and current Mainland Rally Series leader John Silcock (Rangiora) in a Mitsubishi Evo 6.5. They are seeded third and second respectively.
Another Gore fast man will be Paul Cross driving the Evo 8 he has leased again from Cromwell's Paul Beattie. Cross steamed home to second last year in his debut drive in the Mitsubishi and is keen to "go one better this year."
Dunedin's Steve Wellington is seventh to start and is hoping he will repeat last year's advance up the pecking order to where he wound up third in his best overall rally result to date.
His game plan is simple. Go hard from the word go.
"You've got to go out of the box relatively hot. If you have a shocker, in that [first] stage, it's hard to pull it back."
Hoping he makes it past that 26.06km Puketiro opener is Balclutha driver and fourth seed Dean Bond.
Coming off the back of a 2009 Catlins victory Bond was gutted when his Mitsubishi Evo 6.5's gearbox gave out last year only 10km into the rally, signalling the end to his event and title defence.
A front diff failure at the Mainland Rally Series' third round event - the Canterbury Rally - in June meant a similar first-stage exit, leaving Bond philosophical about his chances.
"If we get to the finish with the car in one piece, we will be happy and if we do well, that will be a bonus," he said.
Seventy-four crews have entered the eight-stage event which commences at Owaka Motors at 9am and finishes with a publicity stage at the Riverside Reserve stage in Balclutha at 3.39pm.
