Forest Rally crucial in ARC title hunt

CAMS Australian Rally Championship (ARC) contenders are well into their preparations for the trip across the Nullabour to the Make Smoking History Forest Rally and history tells us that it is worth their while – no team has won the ARC title without contending the Forest Rally since the event became part of the championship in 1974.

Entries to the 2018 event, to be held on 27-29 April in the picturesque towns of Busselton and Nannup in Western Australia’s south-west, will close tomorrow.

The event will host the second round of both the CAMS ARC and the CAMS Onslow Contracting WA Rally Championship.

Forest Rally Clerk of Course John Gibbons encouraged both state and national teams to get their entries in.

“We pride ourselves on running one of the best rally events in the country and the points that crews take away from the Forest Rally often prove invaluable come season end,” Gibbons said.

“We understand it is a big commitment for some of the smaller interstate set ups to bring an entire team over to Western Australia but there has never been a better year than 2018.”

“With the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) removing the traditional registration fee at the beginning of the season teams realistically have more budget up their sleeves and what better to do with it than head over to one of the best rounds in the ARC,” Gibbons continued.

The ARC field at the Courier Eureka Rally in March was strong following the return of several key contenders, such as Steve Glenney, Adrian Coppin and Glen Raymond, competing alongside former ARC title winners such as Eli Evans and Molly Taylor and regular podium contender Harry Bates.

More than 50 crews from across Western Australia and the nation will contest the Make Smoking History Forest Rally.

Competitors and rally fans can visit the new Make Smoking History Forest Rally website www.forestrally.com.au for more information and keep up to date with all the CAMS ARC news, results and videos at www.rally.com.au.