Alice Springs is buzzing with anticipation as 52 classic rally cars from around Australia and overseas begin to roll into town for the start of the Classic Outback Trial.
Classic Outback Trial winners in 2014 were Andrew and David Travis. (Photo: COT)International arrivals include highly experienced crews from the UK, Switzerland and even Argentina, while the Australian crews boast former Australian and State Rally Champions and five crews from the Northern Territory.
These classic cars, which are prepared specifically to take on the Outback roads of central Australia, range from Ford Mustangs and Ford Escorts from the 1960s, Datsun Stanzas and 260Zs, VW Beetles, and even a 1969 Morgan Plus 8, complete with its original wood framed body work!
The rally will begin and end each day from the Lasseter’s Hotel complex in Alice Springs and will take crews hundreds of kilometres in each direction over the six days of the rally, for a total distance of 2320km.
The public are welcome to view the cars at the start each morning and upon their return each afternoon from around 3:00pm.
The rally officially begins on Sunday morning, June at 9:00am, but on Saturday there is an 8.5km prologue stage beginning at 1:00pm at the Finke Desert Race complex, where spectators can get a taste of the next six days competition. The Finke Desert Race complex is just 12km from Alice Springs.
There are spectator points each day and a full guide is available now on the Classic Outback Trial website: www.classicoutbacktrial.com.au
Spectators can also keep track of each car’s progress and stage times through RallySafe, a program available on the internet or via the RallySafe App on a smart phone.