Rally WA has released the dates for the exciting line-up of events that will form the 2016 Onslow Contracting Western Australian Rally Championship (WARC) season. The seven-round calendar will feature the technical stages regular WARC competitors have come to expect, set in some of Western Australia’s most picturesque regions.
Garry Whittle and Stephen Vass in their Subaru WRX at 2015 Quit Experts Cup in Collie (Photo: Tim Allott)2016 Onslow Contracting Western Australian Rally Championship dates are as follows:
Round 1 Quit Forest Rally – 22 to 24 April
Round 2 Trade Hire Donnelly Rally – 14 May
Round 3 Boddington Rally – 4 to 6 June
Round 4 Quit Experts Cup – 2 July
Round 5 Kirup Stages – 10 September
Round 6 Carrington’s Safari Rally – 15 October
Round 7 Darling 200 – 12 November (2WD and Clubman Cup only)
RallyWA Event Chairman Ross Tapper says the 2016 calendar is largely based on this year’s.
“The calendar is similar to 2015 with a few minor tweaks. The responses we have had from competitors regarding this year’s events have been positive, and indicate we are meeting their expectations in regards to the quality and variety of the stages - so we have avoided changing too much,” Mr Tapper says.
Once again the Quit Forest Rally will serve as the opening round for both the Australian Rally Championship and the Western Australian Rally Championship. The popular round now offers competitors the opportunity to gain an extra 50 percent WARC championship points, which reflects the length and status of the rally. Also to give competitors a fresh challenge, many of the rally’s stages have been slightly modified on the previous years’ layouts.
The biggest change for the Quit Forest Rally is the later date, which now sees the event coinciding with the Anzac Day long weekend on 22-24 April. This change gives competitors a longer lead-time for preparation, as well as offering cooler on-track conditions.
Mr Tapper says he hopes spectators will take advantage of the round falling on a long weekend.
“Unlike many national motorsport competitions, the Forest Rally is free for the public to attend and provides great access to the teams, the cars and the action,” Mr Tapper says.
“As organisers we love nothing more than seeing a service park and spectator points filled with fans and families. We hope by holding the event during school holidays, more rallying families and interested WA locals will be able to make the trip to Busselton and Nannup to enjoy an action-packed weekend showing WA’s and Australia’s best rally drivers.”
The Trade Hire Donnelly Rally held on May 14 has also undergone a facelift. After being held in the Donnelly Mill area in previous years, the rally will now be based in Manjimup, and the stages will be located to the west side of the town on roads that haven’t been rallied on for many years. RallyWA are working closely with the Boddington community, and every effort is being made to ensure a rally returns to the area in June 2016.
The Lewana Stages have been renamed the Kirup Stages to better reflect the location of the round.
The historically challenging Carrington’s Safari Rally in mid-October will again be the deciding round for the 4WD championship category. The Darling 200 on November 12 will be the final round for the 2WD category and Clubman Cup competitors.
The WA Rally Advisory Panel will be making RallySafe compulsory in 2016 to improve the safety of tracking the cars and improving response time to incidents. It will be voluntary for Clubman Cup competitors.
Please refer to www.rallywa.com to stay up to date with entry details, round information and results.
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