The six-round 2007 NEC Australian Rally Championship calendar has been released today, featuring a new round in New South Wales.
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Organisers plan to kick off the new event with a Friday-night ceremonial start in Newcastle. The rally's service park and headquarters will be based in Forster and crews will compete on forestry roads located within a 60 kilometre radius of the rally's base.
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"We are working to provide spectator points in 'Nabiac', a 600 hectare area of land that will allow us to build some new and exciting spots to watch the rally action" said Clerk of Course Mike Bell.
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"The roads are a mixture of tight, twisty and technical parts with fast and open sections so competitors will find this a very enjoyable and challenging event."
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Chairman of the Australian Rally Commission (ARCom) Garry Connelly welcomed the addition of the Rally of the Great Lakes to the 2007 NEC ARC calendar.
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"We are pleased to welcome back a round of the championship in NSW, which has a very large base of competitors and enthusiasts".
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The New South Wales event replaces the Tasmanian round of the championship. Safari Tasmania Chairman Rob McGuire said that the decision not to hold a round in 2007 was purely an economic decision.
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"The loss of our naming rights sponsor was a major factor in making the event economically unviable," Rob McGuire said.
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"We're very disappointed not to hold a round next year, and we'd like to thank our fantastic group of volunteers and officials who worked hard to run the NEC ARC events in previous years."
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Garry Connelly also expressed his disappointment at the loss of the Tasmanian round of the championship.
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"After so many years as an integral part of the championship it is sad not to have a round In Tasmania and ARCom thanks all those involved in the Safari over many years, for their support and dedication to rallying".
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"We would also like to acknowledge the two other applications received, one of which included an innovative event close to Sydney by a professional promoter and another which could expand the horizons of the NEC ARC outside Australia in the future."
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The 2007 Super Series kicks off with coates Rally Queensland on March 31st - April 1st. The Queensland round has moved from its traditional June date to replace WA as the opening round of the championship.
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Crews will then make the trip across the Nullarbor for round two, the Quit Forest Rally in Western Australia. The series then moves the ACT for the Rally of Canberra, which is also a round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship on June 2nd-3rd.
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Toyota Rally SA, round four of the NEC ARC, will be held on August 4th to 5th; two weeks earlier than in 2006.
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The New South Wales round will fall on the weekend of September 15th-16th, with the NGK Rally of Melbourne again hosting the final round of the championship on 10th- 11th November.
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2007 NEC AUSTRALIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
1. Rally Queensland - March 31-April 1
2. Forest Rally (WA) - April 28-29
3. Rally of Canberra - June 2-3
4. Rally of South Australia - August 4-5
5. Rally of the Great Lakes (NSW) - September 15-16
6. Rally of Melbourne - November 10-11
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