Details released for 2022 National Capital Rally

The rally will be the opening round of the RSEA Safety Motorsport Australia Rally Championship on the first weekend in April, and is the first of the seven-round series.

As an endurance event, the rally will once again be battled out over two days, instead of two separate heats.

There are some similarities between this year’s and next year’s rally, such as the general format and Event Headquarters being at Abode Woden, which will once again offer a 20 per cent accommodation discount to ARC competitors, there are also some major changes.

In 2021 crews completed 158.63 competitive kilometres over the course of 14 stages, whereas the competitive distance has been extended in 2022 with 177.17km over 13 stages awaiting teams.

Day one will again serve as the bigger of the two, with 108.34 competitive kilometres scheduled, while day two will see crews take on 68.83 kilometres – both of them larger than the 2021 event.

The other notable change to occur for the 2022 Netier National Capital Rally will be the relocation of the Service Park, which will no longer be based in the Abode Woden carpark due to works at the previous site.

The Service Park will now be located at Sutton Driver Training Centre in Majura, which is within minutes of the Kowen Forest.

The forest is a major part of the rally and hosts multiple stages – most notably the Kowen Rally Village spectator friendly stages.

With the Service Park now being across the road from the forest, fans are the big winners as the changes will allow for less travel in between the Spectator Points and the Service Park.

Clerk of Course Adrian Dudok believes the changes would help enhance the experience for all competitors and fans.

“We’re really excited for the 2022 Netier National Capital Rally, especially after a successful event this year,” Dudok said.

“These changes will certainly allow both fans and competitors to witness plenty of rally action across the event.

“Firstly, more competitive kilometres gives crews more time behind the wheel and will definitely offer a challenging experience for them.

“Secondly, having the Service Park right next to the Kowen Forest makes the event more compact and will be easier for fans to attend as spectators due to the reduction of distance in between the two.”

Entries for the first round of the 2022 ARC season opener will open on 29 January and will close on 18 March.

Crews can then take part in the official Testing Day on March 31 and complete Reconnaissance on March 31 and April 1, before the official action gets underway on April 2 and 3.