The Honda Rally Live web page will make staying up to date on all the action from Rally Calder presented by East Coast Bullbars and the rest of the 2012 Bosch Australian Rally Championship a breeze with the page providing the most extensive, on the spot and interactive coverage ever undertaken by the Bosch ARC - with the page featuring: live tracking thanks to the Rallysafe system, results as they happen, in-car footage, video highlights, live webcams, Rally Radio and chat.
Director and general manager of sales and marketing for Honda Australia, Stephen Collins, says the Japanese car company is excited about the prospect of changing the way Rally fans keep up to date as well as improve the safety of competitors.
"Honda is proud to sponsor Rally Live as it will change the face of rallying, significantly improving safety, time keeping, accuracy, and engagement with spectators on a national scale. The technology will help the sport expand and reach a wider audience, removing the need to physically attend each rally. It is a positive step for Honda, the series and all competitors," said Mr Collins.
"Safety is integral to Honda's philosophy, placing an emphasis on social responsibility. Honda is proud to contribute to something that will significantly improve safety measures in a sport that involves a high degree of risk."
The Bosch ARC is the first major rally category to adopt the Rallysafe technology in a bid to further the already strong safety record in the championship.
Rallysafe is an innovative vehicle-to-vehicle communication system for rallying. Not only does it have timing capabilities but Rallysafe warns other vehicles of slower cars ahead, faster cars approaching and any hazards that are on the stage ahead.
The system comes into its own with its advanced hazard warning capabilities. The Rallysafe screen shows a green light if a car is stationary ahead but does not pose a hazard, a yellow light for stationary vehicles that are a hazard and a flashing red light for cars requiring assistance which then goes solid once acknowledged - thereby reducing the risk of a collision between a stopped car and a car at competitive pace.
CEO of the Bosch Australian Rally Championship, Scott Pedder, believes the Honda Rally Live will heighten the coverage of the championship and enhance the experience for all rally fans.
"Thanks to the Honda Rally Live site, fans can monitor the Bosch Australian Rally Championship from where ever they are," said Scott Pedder.
"Honda has committed to the Bosch Australian Rally Championship in a big way in 2012 and it's great to see that both competitors and fans will benefit immensely from their involvement. The implementation of the Honda Rallysafe ARC System will see safer events as well optimising our coverage of events this year which is a positive outcome for rally enthusiasts everywhere."
Scott Pedders' thoughts are echoed by Stephen Collins from Honda - who believes the Honda Rally Live page will only benefit the sport.
"Providing a website that can be accessed by rally enthusiasts nationally, will not only provide a platform to engage the sport's current following, but will reach a newer, wider audience. The Honda Racing Facebook page also utilises the internet and social media to build a stronger following," Mr Collins remarked.
More than 2.5 million Australians will see the Bosch ARC on TV in 2012 and the series will generate more than 36 hours of national television across the Ten/One HD network - a media equivalency value exceeding $6 million. The Bosch Australian Rally Championship has also re-signed multi-national fuel and lubricant giant BP as the primary fuel supplier and Korean tyre giant Kumho as the exclusive tyre supplier for the championship for the third year.
The opening round of the 2012 Bosch ARC, Rally Calder presented by East Coast Bullbars, is scheduled for March 1-4 at Calder Park in Melbourne with round two, the Quit Forest Rally in WA on March 30-April 1, round three, the International Rally of Queensland on the Sunshine Coast, on May 24-27, the Scouts Rally of South Australia in the Adelaide Hills from July 29-31 making up the fourth round, while round five, the Coffs Coast Rally will be run over the same roads used for Australia's World Championship round at Coffs Harbour on October 13-14. The grand finale to the Bosch ARC will be Rally Victoria in Gippsland on November 9-10.