The South West Stages will play host to round five of the MRF Tyres South Australian Rally Championship (SARC) and round six of the Victorian Club Rally Series (VCRS) on Saturday, October 7.
Based in the township of Heywood, the surrounding forests will come alive to the sound of some of the best rally cars from Victoria and South Australia.
Up to 45 entries are anticipated, and the influx of competitors and their service crews are expected to provide a significant boost to the local economy.
Event director and active rally competitor, Nathan Lowe, and his team have been busy in recent months working with local authorities to plan the event and devise some exciting spectator opportunities.
“With action getting underway at 1pm, we're going to kick off the rally with a Super Special Stage at the Heywood khanacross track, which will be repeated under floodlights in the evening,” said Lowe.
Due to the different regulations for each state, only SARC competitors will compete across all 10 special stages, covering a total distance of 170km, while the VCRS competitors will end their event after nine stages.
Using good quality local forestry and shire roads to the north of Heywood that haven't been used in rallying for nearly two decades, combined with a day/night format, the South West Stages promises to be an exciting new challenge.
For more details visit South West Stages on Facebook, seacsa.com or please contact Nathan Lowe on 0400 259 306.
- Craig O’Brien