ADELAIDE HILLS RALLY CANCELLED

Motorsport Australia has announced that the next round of the Australian Rally Championship, in the Adelaide Hills has been cancelled.

Ongoing COVID-related border restrictions have derailed the third round of the ARC, the Adelaide Hills Rally, scheduled for October 22-24.

The state component of the rally has also been abandoned.

The decision was made at this point to minimise the significant costs incurred to organisers throughout planning the event, including various road closure notifications and other logistics involved in organising a rally.

A new event in December is now being finally, the date and location currently unknown.

Motorsport Australia’s Director of Motorsport & Commercial Operations Michael Smith was disappointed to lose another event to COVID-19.

“This is not the news we want to be sharing, but we’ve made the tough call to cancel this year’s event, together with the hard-working event organisers,” Smith said.

“The AGI Sport Adelaide Hills Rally is a terrific event and I know I speak on behalf of all competitors when I say there will be a lot of disappointed crews out there.

“A big thank you must go to the event organisers, event and Championship sponsors, competitors and rally fans for their flexibility and ongoing support during a year that’s been a very tough one for the entire motorsport community.”

Adelaide Hills Rally organiser Andrew Admiraal was likewise regretful in confirming the necessary cancellation.

“It’s unfortunate to be announcing this news today, however the ongoing border restrictions make an October event near on impossible to prepare for,” Admiraal said.

“We’d like to thank everyone who has been part of organising this event to date and the support we have received from our sponsors and local communities, particularly those in and around Birdwood.

“Our focus now turns to delivering an outstanding AGI Sport Adelaide Hills Rally in 2022 taking part on what we believe are the best rally roads in the country.

“We know national competitors will have missed coming to South Australia in recent times, so it will be an amazing event next year we have no doubt.”

This update comes after the two Coffs Coast events, originally scheduled for November, were both cancelled last week.

Smith was optimistic about the possibility of a new third round in December.

“We’re working hard to make sure we can deliver that third event in December if government and travel restrictions allow the majority of states to attend,” Smith added.

“We’ll keep a close eye on borders, vaccination rates and other key factors to determine the best location to make this event possible and advise of the details in due course.”

The Adelaide Hills Rally will return in 2022, part of an extended seven-Motorsport Australia Rally Championship calendar.

Canberra brothers Harry and Lewis Bates lead the ARC Drivers’ Championship after two rounds, sitting on 220 and 165 points respectively.

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