- Rally Australia
Rally Australia is an automobile rally event which was held in and around Perth,
Western Australia between 1988 and 2006. The next event is due to be held in Queensland in 2009, and automobile parts supplier,Repco , have just signed on as joint sponsors of the 2009 event and Rally New Zealand.Rally Australia 1988 - 2006
The
FIA World Rally Championship first came toAustralia hosted in the state capital of Perth,Western Australia . Initially a super-special stage was run at Richmond Raceway near Fremantle with the service park at Langley Park on the Swan River. Competitors pushed as hard as they could on the world-famous jumps in the Bannister Forest, the super-special stage Langley Park & later the Gloucester Park Super Special stage. It was praised for it's unique road surface, consisting of tiny, smooth round stones that had the effect of driving on ball bearings.Rally Australia was voted "Rally of the Year" in
1995 ,1999 and2000 by theFIA World Rally Championship teams.The
2006 rally held on the 26th to 29th of October was the final one staged inWestern Australia . It has been cancelled by the holders of the rally contract, the Western Australia Tourism Commission.The future
After missing a year from the 2007 WRC calendar, Rally Australia was to have a new home from 2008, based on the
Gold Coast, Queensland on the east coast of Australia. However without planning approval from the Queensland state government to construct the proposed I-METT facility to headquarter the rally, the event is on hiatus. [ [http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22643992-39478,00.html Rally round planned for Australia called off] Herald-Sun, October 25, 2007] [ [http://www.theage.com.au/news/Sport/Queensland-world-rally-event-scrapped/2007/10/26/1192941315387.html Queensland world rally event scrapped] The Age, October 26, 2007] Rally Australia's return has since been announced for September 2009, with the event to be based out of Kingscliff in northernNew South Wales . The event will alternate year to year withRally New Zealand for a place on the World Rally Championship. [ [http://news.smh.com.au/sport/wrc-to-return-to-australia-in-2009-20080910-4dd4.html WRC to return to Australia in 2009] Sydney Morning Herald, September 10, 2008]Winners
Notes
References
* [http://www.wrc.com/jsp/index.jsp?lnk=402&desc=Rally%20Australia&season=2006&rally_id=AUS WRC website with 2006 results]
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