AORC CANCELS CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS

The Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship (AORC) has been cancelled, the remaining two rounds will now be run as cups due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The cancellation of the outstanding rounds comes as ongoing state border closures continue to hamper competitors plans to travel interstate in time.

As they did in 2020, the Black Diamond Drilling Kalgoorlie Desert Race will be run as the Motorsport Australia Off Road Cup – West, while the Can-Am Loveday 400 will be known as the Motorsport Australia Off Road Cup – Central.

The Motorsport Australia Director of Motorsport & Commercial Operations Michael Smith is gutted to cancel the championship but expressed that it was a decision that had to be made.

“There have obviously been a lot of disruptions to motorsport over the past two years and unfortunately the AORC has been another victim of the current climate we find ourselves in where competitors simply can’t get to enough events for us to justify awarding a Championship,” Smith said.

“It’s quite disheartening that we have had to cancel the season again this year, especially after we had two really successful rounds completed in the first half of the year.

“However, with the current situation of border closures and restrictions not looking to be eased until at least the end of October at the earliest, it’s just not possible to run a national championship at this point, alongside the fact that Finke was not open to all competitors from around Australia.

“Luckily, we have events like Kalgoorlie and Loveday that can take place as standalone and which still attract large fields as state run events, as we saw in 2020 and in previous years before they joined the AORC. These events will see Cups awarded, thanks to BFGoodrich.

“I would like to use this opportunity to thank all the event promoters for supporting this decision, as hard as it has been to make, and to all the competitors, officials and fans who have been patient with us for the past 18 months.

“We look forward to a big 2022 where we should hopefully be able to run all rounds of the championship and get back to a bit of normality, with more rounds than in recent years expected to make up the calendar.”

With two rounds already run in 2021, the Cobb & Co Hotel St George 399 will be now be marked as the Motorsport Australia Off Road Cup – East, while the Tatts Finke Desert Race ends the year as a standalone event.

The dates for the Kalgoorlie Desert Race and Can-Am Loveday 400 will remain as they are currently scheduled with the Kalgoorlie event on 21-24 October, and Loveday a week later from October 28-31.

2021 Australian Off Road Calendar:

Round 1: Cobb & Co. St George 399 – Motorsport Australia Off Road Cup – East

Round 2: Tatts Finke Desert Race – standalone event

Events remaining in 2021:

Round 3: Black Diamond Drilling Kalgoorlie Desert Race – Motorsport Australia Off Road Cup – West (22-24 October)

Round 4: Can-Am Loveday 400 – Motorsport Australia Off Road Cup – Central (29-31 October)

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