Rally Australia

Last updated

Rally Australia
Statusactive
Genremotorsporting event
Frequencyannual
Country Australia
Inaugurated1988
Most recent2018
Marcus Gronholm at the Bunnings Jumps, one of the most famous features of the Rally Australia. Marcus Gronholm Bunnings Jumps.jpg
Marcus Grönholm at the Bunnings Jumps, one of the most famous features of the Rally Australia.

Rally Australia is an automobile rally event which was held in Coffs Harbour as the final leg of the World Rally Championship (WRC) until 2018.

Contents

First run in 1988, the rally was held in and around Perth, Western Australia until 2006. It was part of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship in 1988 and the WRC from 1989 to 2006. The rally returned in 2009 to the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales in early September and alternated with Rally New Zealand for 2010 and 2012 before becoming an annual fixture again in its own right from 2013. From 2011 the event was relocated to Coffs Harbour. [1] As of August 2019, the Rally Australia event did not have a contract with WRC to be part of the World Championship beyond 2019. [2]

The event has also been a round of the Australian Rally Championship although not consistently as the ARC technical regulations has been incompatible with the WRC in some years. Similarly the Western Australian Rally Championship has also been a part of Rally Australia during its Perth-based history.

During the years when Rally New Zealand replaced Rally Australia on the WRC calendar, the rally was run as an Australian Rally Championship round, titled Coffs Coast Rally.

History

The FIA World Rally Championship first came to Australia hosted in Perth, the state capital of Western Australia. Initially a super-special stage was run at Richmond Raceway near Fremantle with the service park at Langley Park on the Swan River. Competitors pushed as hard as they could on the world-famous jumps in the Bannister Forest, the super-special stage Langley Park and later the Gloucester Park Super Special stage.

It was praised for its unique road surface, consisting of tiny, smooth round stones that had the effect of driving on ball bearings. Rally Australia was voted "Rally of the Year" in 1995, 1999 and 2000 by the WRC teams.

The 2006 rally held on 26 to 29 October was the final one staged in Western Australia. It was cancelled by the holders of the rally contract, the Western Australia Tourism Commission after the then ruling Australian Labor Party decided to withdraw funding, despite widespread support for the rally, the largest annual international event held in Perth, to continue.

After missing a year from the 2007 WRC calendar, Rally Australia was to have a new home from 2008, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland on the east coast of Australia. However without planning approval from the Queensland state government to construct the proposed I-METT facility to headquarter the rally, the event was on hiatus. [3] [4]

Rally Australia's return was announced for September 2009, with the event to be based out of Kingscliff in northern New South Wales. The event will alternate year to year with the Rally New Zealand for a place on the World Rally Championship. [5] The NSW state government designated the rally a major event, citing the huge impact of the event upon the economy of the region. The location for the event, planned to run there every second year until roughly 2020, was agreed upon between Rally Australia directors, local mayors and representatives from Events NSW, a state government tourism body.

The 2019 event was cancelled due to bushfires. [6]

Controversy

The WRC rally in New South Wales was enabled by a special Act of New South Wales Parliament, the Motor Sports (WRC) Act 2009. This legislation is designed to last for the life of Rally Australia's ten to twenty-year contract with the NSW government. The event was still bound to abide by all environmental, cultural and heritage protection acts and was not exempt for any possible breaches that may or may not occur. The legislation allowed for a fast-tracked approval process after being stalled by local government.

Many residents objected to the legislation and also felt that the event was incompatible with the Northern Rivers' social fabric and reputation as an ecotourism destination. As a result, the 2009 event was marked by significant public protests in the lead-up to and during the event. Two race stages were abandoned due to protest activities where rocks were allegedly laid on the road prior to the scout cars coming through the stage. A race stage marshall claimed protesters had thrown rocks at rally cars, resulting in worldwide media reports and an outcry against protesters. However, after lobbying by public residents' group No Rally Group, who cited concerns about the indiscriminate vilification of residents opposing the rally, police eventually stated that there was no evidence that rocks had been thrown.

In September 2010, as controversy over the event continued in local communities, the Australian motorsport administrative body, the Confederation of Australian Motor Sports (CAMS), which owns Rally Australia, announced that the rally would relocate to Coffs Harbour, where there is an established rally event, the Coffs Coast Rally. [1]

Rally Australia Chairman Alan Evans stated that the event's departure from the Northern Rivers marks the first time a leg of the WRC has ever been relocated due to residents' concerns, despite the fact that there have been many such efforts by residents all over the world in areas where the event has been staged.

The 2011 Rally Australia event was run successfully at Coff Harbour under the stewardship of Ben Rainsford as Chairman and Michael Masi as Chief Executive.

Winners

Sebastien Ogier in 2015 Sebastien Ogier Rally Australia 2015 001.jpg
Sébastien Ogier in 2015
SeasonDriverCo-driverCarLocationEvent report
1988 Flag of Sweden.svg Ingvar Carlsson Flag of Sweden.svg Per Carlsson Flag of Japan.svg Mazda 323 4WD Perth Report
1989 Flag of Finland.svg Juha Kankkunen Flag of Finland.svg Juha Piironen Flag of Japan.svg Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 Report
1990 Flag of Finland.svg Juha Kankkunen Flag of Finland.svg Juha Piironen Flag of Italy.svg Lancia Delta Integrale 16V Report
1991 Flag of Finland.svg Juha Kankkunen Flag of Finland.svg Juha Piironen Flag of Italy.svg Lancia Delta Integrale 16V Report
1992 Flag of France.svg Didier Auriol Flag of France.svg Bernard Occelli Flag of Italy.svg Lancia Delta HF Integrale Report
1993 Flag of Finland.svg Juha Kankkunen Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Nicky Grist Flag of Japan.svg Toyota Celica GT-Four ST185 Report
1994 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Colin McRae Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Derek Ringer Flag of Japan.svg Subaru Impreza 555 Report [A]
1995 Flag of Sweden.svg Kenneth Eriksson Flag of Sweden.svg Staffan Parmander Flag of Japan.svg Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III Report
1996 Flag of Finland.svg Tommi Mäkinen Flag of Finland.svg Seppo Harjanne Flag of Japan.svg Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III Report
1997 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Colin McRae Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Nicky Grist Flag of Japan.svg Subaru Impreza WRC 97 Report
1998 Flag of Finland.svg Tommi Mäkinen Flag of Finland.svg Risto Mannisenmäki Flag of Japan.svg Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V Report
1999 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Richard Burns Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Robert Reid Flag of Japan.svg Subaru Impreza WRC 99 Report
2000 Flag of Finland.svg Marcus Grönholm Flag of Finland.svg Timo Rautiainen Flag of France.svg Peugeot 206 WRC Report
2001 Flag of Finland.svg Marcus Grönholm Flag of Finland.svg Timo Rautiainen Flag of France.svg Peugeot 206 WRC Report
2002 Flag of Finland.svg Marcus Grönholm Flag of Finland.svg Timo Rautiainen Flag of France.svg Peugeot 206 WRC Report
2003 Flag of Norway.svg Petter Solberg Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Phil Mills Flag of Japan.svg Subaru Impreza WRC 2003 Report
2004 Flag of France.svg Sébastien Loeb Flag of Monaco.svg Daniel Elena Flag of France.svg Citroën Xsara WRC Report
2005 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg François Duval Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Sven Smeets Flag of France.svg Citroën Xsara WRC Report
2006 Flag of Finland.svg Mikko Hirvonen Flag of Finland.svg Jarmo Lehtinen Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ford Focus RS WRC 06 Report
2009 Flag of Finland.svg Mikko Hirvonen Flag of Finland.svg Jarmo Lehtinen Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ford Focus RS WRC 09 Kingscliff Report
2011 Flag of Finland.svg Mikko Hirvonen Flag of Finland.svg Jarmo Lehtinen Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ford Fiesta RS WRC Coffs Harbour Report
2013 Flag of France.svg Sébastien Ogier Flag of France.svg Julien Ingrassia Flag of Germany.svg Volkswagen Polo R WRC Report
2014 Flag of France.svg Sébastien Ogier Flag of France.svg Julien Ingrassia Flag of Germany.svg Volkswagen Polo R WRC Report
2015 Flag of France.svg Sébastien Ogier Flag of France.svg Julien Ingrassia Flag of Germany.svg Volkswagen Polo R WRC Report
2016 Flag of Norway.svg Andreas Mikkelsen Flag of Norway.svg Anders Jæger Flag of Germany.svg Volkswagen Polo R WRC Report
2017 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Thierry Neuville Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Nicolas Gilsoul Flag of South Korea.svg Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Report
2018 Flag of Finland.svg Jari-Matti Latvala Flag of Finland.svg Miikka Anttila Flag of Japan.svg Toyota Yaris WRC Report
2019 Event cancelled Report

Notes

A Due to the World Rally Championship round rotation, the 1994 rally counted only for the 2-litre World Cup.

Multiple winners

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coffs Harbour</span> City in New South Wales, Australia

Coffs Harbour, locally nicknamed Coffs, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, 540 km (340 mi) north of Sydney, and 390 km (240 mi) south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 as per 2021 census. The Gumbaynggirr are the original people of the Coffs Harbour region.

The 2011 World Rally Championship was the 39th season of the FIA World Rally Championship. The season consisted of 13 rallies, beginning with Rally Sweden on 10 February and ended with Wales Rally GB on 13 November.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Rally Australia</span>

The 2009 Repco Rally Australia was the 20th Rally Australia and the tenth round of the 2009 World Rally Championship season. The rally consisted of 35 special stages and was won on the road by Citroën's Sébastien Loeb. However, Loeb's win was short-lived as his Citroën along with those of his teammate Dani Sordo, and Sébastien Ogier were given one-minute time penalties for irregularities with their cars' anti-rollbars. Ford's Mikko Hirvonen inherited the win, for his fourth win in succession.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thierry Neuville</span> Belgian rally driver (born 1988)

Thierry Jean Neuville is a Belgian rally driver who is competing in the World Rally Championship for Hyundai Motorsport. During his career, he has finished as runner-up in the drivers' championship five times. He helped Hyundai win their first manufacturers' title in 2019, as well as repeating the feat in 2020. His current co-driver is compatriot Martijn Wydaeghe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Rally Australia</span>

The 2011 Rally Australia was the 21st Rally Australia and the tenth round of the 2011 World Rally Championship season. The rally took place over 8–11 September, and was based in Coffs Harbour, a coastal city in the New South Wales state of Australia. The rally was also the fifth round of the Production World Rally Championship. Rally Australia returned to the WRC calendar after a year's hiatus, and after demonstrations marred the 2009 running of the rally, held north of Coffs Harbour in the Northern Rivers area. Residents' concerns for the event meant that the rally was moved for the foreseeable future to Coffs Harbour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volkswagen Polo R WRC</span> Volkswagen rally car built for competition in the World Rally Championship

The Volkswagen Polo R WRC is a World Rally Car built and operated by Volkswagen Motorsport and based on the Volkswagen Polo for use in the World Rally Championship. The car, which made its début at the start of the 2013 season, is built to the second generation of World Rally Car regulations that were introduced in 2011, which are based upon the existing Super 2000 regulations, but powered by a turbocharged 1.6-litre engine rather than the naturally aspirated 2-litre engine found in Super 2000 cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molly Taylor</span> Australian female racing driver

Molly Anne Taylor is an Australian rally car driver. She is the 2016 Australian Rally Champion, the first and only woman to win the Australian Rally Championship and the youngest regardless of gender, and the 2021 Extreme E Champion.

The 2017 FIA WRC2 Championship is the fifth season of the WRC2, a rallying championship organised and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, running in support of the World Rally Championship. The Championship is open to cars complying with R4, R5, and Super 2000 regulations. Esapekka Lappi did not return to defend his 2016 title as he left Škoda Motorsport for the top WRC category to become third driver of Toyota GAZOO Racing. However, Škoda Motorsport retained the title thanks to Pontus Tidemand who won the championship after Rallye Deutschland.

The 2017 FIA WRC3 Championship was the fifth season of WRC3, a rallying championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, running in support of the World Rally Championship. It was created when the Group R class of rally car was introduced in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 World Rally Championship</span> 46th season of the World Rally Championship

The 2018 FIA World Rally Championship was the 46th season of the World Rally Championship, a rallying championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) as the highest class of international rallying. Teams and crews were competing in thirteen events—starting with the Monte Carlo Rally in January and finishing with Rally Australia in November—for the World Rally Championships for Drivers, Co-drivers and Manufacturers. Crews were free to compete in cars complying with World Rally Car and Group R regulations; however, only Manufacturers competing with 2017-specification World Rally Cars were eligible to score points in the Manufacturers' championship. The series were once again supported by the WRC2 and WRC3 categories at every round and by the Junior WRC at selected rounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 WRC2 Championship</span>

The 2018 FIA WRC2 Championship was the sixth season of WRC2, a rallying championship organised and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, running in support of the World Rally Championship. The championship was open to cars complying with R4, R5, and Super 2000 regulations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Wales Rally GB</span>

The 2018 Wales Rally GB was a motor racing event for rally cars that took place over four days from 4 to 7 October 2018. The event was open to entries competing in World Rally Cars and cars complying with Group R regulations. It marked the seventy-fourth running of Rally Great Britain and was the eleventh round of the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship, the highest class of competition in international rallying. Sixty crews, including manufacturer teams and privateers, were entered to compete in the World Rally Championship, the FIA World Rally Championship-2 and FIA World Rally Championship-3 support series and the MSA British Rally Championship. The 2018 event was based in Deeside in Flintshire and consisted of twenty-three special stages throughout North and Mid-Wales. The rally covered a total competitive distance of 318.34 km and an additional 1,083.01 km in transport stages.

The 2018 Rally Australia was a motor racing event for rally cars that took place between 15 and 18 November. The event was open to entries competing in World Rally Cars and cars complying with Group R regulations. It marked the twenty-seventh running of Rally Australia and was the final round of the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship and its support series, the WRC-2 and WRC-3 championships. The 2018 event was based in Coffs Harbour in New South Wales and consisted of twenty-four special stages. The rally covered a total competitive distance of a 316.30 km and an additional 698.91 km in transport stages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 World Rally Championship</span> 2019 edition of the World Rally Championship

The 2019 FIA World Rally Championship was the forty-seventh season of the World Rally Championship, a rallying championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) as the highest class of international rallying. Teams and crews competed in fourteen events for the World Rally Championships for Drivers, Co-drivers and Manufacturers. Crews were free to compete in cars complying with World Rally Car and Group R regulations; however, only Manufacturers competing with World Rally Cars homologated under regulations introduced in 2017 were eligible to score points in the Manufacturers' championship. The series was once again supported by the WRC2 category at every round, which was split into 2 classifications: WRC2 Pro for manufacturer entries and WRC2 for private entries, and by Junior WRC at selected events. WRC3 was discontinued in 2018.

The 2019 FIA WRC2 Championship was the seventh season of WRC2, a rallying championship organised and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, running in support of the World Rally Championship. The championship is open to cars complying with R5 regulations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Rally Australia</span> 28th edition of Rally Australia

The 2019 Rally Australia was a motor racing event for rally cars that was scheduled to be held over four days between 14 and 17 November 2019. The event was cancelled because of an ongoing bushfire emergency in the area. The event was to mark the twenty-eighth running of Rally Australia and was the final round of the 2019 World Rally Championship, WRC-2 Pro class and World Rally Championship-2. The 2019 event would have been based in Coffs Harbour in New South Wales, and contested over twenty-five special stages with a total a competitive distance of 324.53 km (201.65 mi). Rally Australia will not be featured in the 2020 championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 World Rally Championship</span> 48th running of the World Rally Championship

The 2020 FIA World Rally Championship was the forty-eighth season of the World Rally Championship, a rallying competition organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Teams and crews competed in seven rallies for the World Rally Championships for Drivers, Co-drivers and Manufacturers. Crews were free to compete in cars complying with various regulations, however, only manufacturers competing with World Rally Cars homologated under regulations introduced in 2017 were eligible to score points in the Manufacturers' championship. The championship began in January 2020 with the Rallye Monte-Carlo and concluded in December 2020 with Rally Monza. The series was supported by the WRC2, WRC3 and Junior WRC categories at selected events.

The 2019 FIA WRC2 Pro Championship was the first and only season of WRC2 Pro, a rallying championship organised and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile as the second-highest tier of international rallying. The category was open to cars entered by manufacturers and complying with Group R5 regulations, while WRC2 was open to privately entered cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 WRC2 Championship</span> Rally championship organised by FIA

The 2020 FIA WRC2 Championship was the eighth season of WRC2, a rallying championship organised and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile as the second-highest tier of international rallying. The category was open to cars entered by manufacturers and complying with R5 regulations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 WRC3 Championship</span>

The 2020 FIA WRC3 Championship was the seventh season of WRC3, a rallying championship organised and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. It was open to privately-entered cars complying with Group Rally2 regulations.

References

  1. 1 2 Evans, David (29 September 2010). "Rally Australia moves to new location". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications . Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  2. Evans, David (24 April 2019). "New Zealand tipped for one-off return to WRC calendar for 2020". autosport.com . Motorsport Network . Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  3. Rally round planned for Australia called off Herald Sun, 25 October 2007
  4. Queensland world rally event scrapped The Age, 26 October 2007
  5. WRC to return to Australia in 2009 Sydney Morning Herald, 10 September 2008
  6. World Rally Championship finale cancelled amid Australia bush fires Autosport 11 November 2019