Gippsland Rally: what you need to know

It’s the third time that the Gippsland Rally has been part of the national series, and while leading competitors know the challenge they’re about to face, it doesn’t make it any easier, with the competition fiercer than ever.

Victoria is a state with a long history in the Australian Rally Championship, with famous events like the Rally of Melbourne, Akademos Rally and the Alpine Rally all taking their turn.

Now based in Gippsland, the state’s ARC round has attracted a big entry.

As it’s been in the past, the rally is an endurance event, meaning competitors need to complete the entire rally before points are allocated. It’s not just a sprint, you must be consistent over the whole event to get a good haul of points.

So what can competitors and fans alike expect from the rally?

ENTRY

This is the biggest Australian Rally Championship field of the season. The numbers are there and so is the depth.

Harry Bates and Scott Pedder are at the front, and Lewis Bates, Eddie Maguire and Alex Rullo will, as always, chase hard to get onto the podium.

Part of the increased depth is the entry of Clayton Hoy (Mitsubishi) and Ryan Williams (Subaru), who are on the entry list to continue their Production Cup ambitions.

Dean Ridge, Danny Traverso and Gary Mills are also there to start either their first or second round for the season.

Mills is a welcome returnee to the Australian Rally Championship, with his Peugeot 208 AP4 making the trip from Western Australia.

Also adding to the depth of the field are the three Subaru WRX Challenge entries in brand new 2024 Subaru WRXs.

Glenn Brinkman, Tim Clark and Gary Yeomans will all be driving the cars in the hope of getting onto the top step of the class podium.

STAGES

The stages are essentially the same as they have been for the last couple of years. Saturday’s stages are identical, and there are slight adjustments to Sunday’s route.

Leg one’s roads are characterised by their flowing nature, with many long corners, while Sunday is more tight and twisty. They’re completely different from what competitors see the day before.

The Power Stage remains at the Boisdale Hillclimb track, which is unique to this round of the championship.

It’s been adjusted slightly this year to make it more fast and flowing, however, it requires a different approach to a typical forest stage.

Leg One: 8 stages, 120.74 competitive kilometres

Leg Two: 8 stages, 67.22 competitive kilometres

SPECTATORS

Those wishing to see the action at the rally will have three options.

The first corners of the rally are yet again a spectator point on Saturday, and Sunday’s similar spectator point on the Kennedys Flat stage is also available to fans free of charge.

Also available is the Boisdale Hillclimb track on Sunday, which will see two separate stages of action.

Before the rally, Friday night will allow people the opportunity to see all the cars and crews at the Rally Show in Sale.

FOR THOSE AT HOME

Rally updates will be available via the RallySport Magazine website at the end of each leg, while the official Australian Rally Championship website is the place for results on all devices via their Subaru Results Hub.

Live shows will be broadcast at the end of each day’s action on 7plus, while live streams and videos will be available on social media from the series and leading teams.

2024 Australian Rally Championship Calendar

Round 1: Rally of Canberra – 5-7 April

Round 2: Forest Rally – 17-19 May

Round 3: Rally Queensland – 28-30 June

Round 4: Gippsland Rally – 9-11 August

Round 5: Adelaide Hills Rally – 13-15 September

Round 6: Rally Launceston – 22-24 November