As New Zealanders prepare for a possible record-breaking entry in next month’s Otago Rally, Australian rallying’s top series can’t turn a trick.
The first round of the 2021 Aussie series was supposed to happen this weekend, with much excitement generated by a number of top-level competitors, and a pair of brand new Toyota Yaris AP4s from Neal Bates Motorsport.
But the National Capital Rally has suffered an agonising postponement because of the torrential rain falling in New South Wales and the ACT.
It comes after COVID-19 in 2021, and the November 2019 cancellation of Rally Australia because of devastating bushfires around Coffs Harbour.
Some parts of NSW have recorded over 900mm of rain (yes, you read that right!), and while Canberra hasn’t been as badly affected, ACT Forestry were unwilling to issue a permit for the rally under the current circumstances.
Canberra’s roads are generally sand based, meaning they generally tend to hold up okay to rain, but with little chance of the road base drying out before this weekend, organisers had little chance than to pull up stumps.
“A lot of work has gone into this event and while it’s unfortunate we can’t run the event this coming week, to have a new date locked away so quickly is a terrific result,” event director Adrian Dudok said.
The rally will now be held a fortnight later, on April 10 and 11, but that has already created headaches for competitors who have had to hurriedly change their plans, and in most cases, their holidays.
Now to be held during school holidays, accommodation is also at a premium, and flights in and out of Canberra are becoming scarce, proving even more problems. Others are having problems re-organising their businesses, and in some cases, are now likely to miss important family events and weddings.
That the rally can be rescheduled so quickly is great for the championship, but the snow-balling affect is not necessarily a great thing for competitors (or officials and spectators).
How the date change impacts on entry numbers is yet to be determined, and has added yet another hurdle for the organising team.
Their rally was twice postponed due to COVID-19 last year, before finally running in November. Now, just four months later, they’re doing it all again.
The decision was quickly followed by an announcement that the first round of the Queensland Rally Championship had also been postponed – for the same reasons.
As someone famous once said, life wasn’t meant to be easy.
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Work to do for NZRC regulars
John Giltrap took out the New Zealand season’s first major rally last weekend when he drove his Lancer Evo to a 31 second victory in the Westland Rally.
There were plenty of others though, using the event as a test before the New Zealand Rally Championship gets underway, who have plenty of work still to do.
At the head of the list were potential rally winners Josh Marston and Regan Ross.
Marston was back behind the wheel of his Holden Barina AP4 and won the second stage, but then had turbo failure on the touring stage to the third competitive test, ending his day early.
Regan Ross is still coming to grips with his new Ford Fiesta R5, and after winning the first stage of the day he looked on track for his first victory in the car.
Two stages later though, he hit a tree so he’ll have some work to do before Otago.
As will other NZRC regulars Deane Buist (alternator failure) in his VW Golf, Jeff Judd (Escort) with a broken axle, youngster Harri Judd (Fiesta F2) with mechanical problems, and Tony Gosling, who debuted his new Escort but only to retire after four stages.
Still, with over 100 entries already received for the Otago Rally, there’ll be plenty of competition when the national series gets underway on April 17 and 18. We can’t wait.
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