The Gold Coast Tweed Motorsporting Club Inc (GCTMC Inc) will expand the popular Border Ranges Rally that has been a feature on roads around the Border Ranges since 2006. Rally Clerk of the Course Stephen Davies said:
“The rally has received great reciprocal support from the communities of Urbenville and Woodenbong. The 2012 event will continue there with the usual stages being run followed by the post event celebrations. However we have been approached to start the rally in Kyogle on Friday night at the Showgrounds with a Super Special Stage and then run a couple of stages on Saturday morning near Kyogle over roads used in the 2009 World Rally Championship (WRC) event.”
Davies continued: “We were initially reluctant to expand the event to Kyogle as the WRC had received such negative reporting, but after reading the independent report commissioned by the NSW Government and the Kyogle Council on the WRC event, it confirmed what we already knew. And that is these events are well supported by the overwhelming majority of the community and they do provide good economic and social benefits. The GCTMC has been conducting rallies in northern NSW for over 35 years.”
Both Kyogle Council and the NSW Police Department are integral to the closure of roads used for competition. The GCTMC Inc was given permission at Monday’s 26th March Council meeting to consult residents along the proposed road closures. Davies stated: “We will be talking with those residents along the affected roads in the very near future but it would have been inappropriate of the club to approach residents prior to receiving Council permission.”
Whilst this event will not be anywhere near the scale of the WRC it is expected to bring approximately 500 people into the region and the organisers are seeking local involvement.
“We actively seek the assistance of community groups such as the Rural Fire Brigade, Community Associations, Showground Trusts, and SES, etc. In this way community groups can raise much needed funds for new equipment and training," he said.
The GCTMC Inc is a not-for-profit club whose aim is to improve driving standards and promote driver education in young adults through involvement with motorsport.
“This rally is our main event for the year and the small profit made provides the funds needed to subsidise our young driver education programs.”
Approximately sixty crews will contest the rally in vehicles ranging from Classics through to the most up-to-date modern all wheel drive specialist machinery. Even though some of the classic cars can be over 30 years old they are often the most spectacular. They are usually rear wheel drive and driven quite sideways as they scramble for grip on the loose gravel roads.
All the stages except the Super Special Stages at Kyogle Showgrounds on the Friday night and the tarmac stage in Woodenbong early Saturday evening will be run on gravel, and in daylight.
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