There will be lots of rally action to look forward to this weekend when the Supercheap Auto Coffs Coast Rally takes over the town of Coffs Harbour.
Whether it’s the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) grand finale, or the highly anticipated RSEA Safety Motorsport Australia Rally Championship title fight after six challenging rounds to date – a super busy schedule is on the cards for the 70 entered crews.
However, one component of the event that is sure to keep fans on the edge of their seats for most of the weekend will be the Motorsport Australia NSW Rally Championship.
A healthy field of 39 crews are entered in the state championship finale – which will see them complete all but one of the 14 scheduled stages over the course of the weekend.
One thing is for sure, the depth of talent within the entry list runs deep down the order.
Most notably, there are the nine crews cross-entered in both the state and national competition with ARC title contenders Richie Dalton and Dale Moscatt leading the charge.
Dalton currently sits fourth on the outright ARC Driver standings and has a chance of taking out the top prize – meaning he will be pushing hard all weekend.
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The likes of Nathan Quinn, Taylor Gill and Jamie Luff are the most likely drivers to challenge Richie for state top honours and like the Irishman, the trio are also cross entered in the ARC.
For Dalton though, he is excited for the challenge.
“I’m pumped for Coffs. It’s where I did my first rally and I am hoping for a big weekend, so there won’t be a different approach to any other event and I am fully committed,” Dalton said.
“While I will be focusing on the APRC and ARC, it will be nice to for state-level success as I have already won the round at Batemans Bay, so it would be good to add another.
“Going up against Quinny in his own backyard. The last time we did that was in 2017 when he won the ARC Championship, but I beat him, so it should be fun.
“Otherwise. It’s going to be a really interesting weekend and I am really excited for the weekend.”
In addition to the ARC crews doing the double, there are many strong crews contesting just the state championship.
The likes of Tony Sullens, Riley Walters, Thomas Dermody and Ron Moore are amongst those locals in a good position for some state honours.
One driver with a point to prove is Mal Keough.
The New South Welshman hasn’t had as much action in 2022 as he would have liked due to a DNF in Canberra but was hopeful of guiding his Audi Quattro S1 E2 Replica to a solid result.
“Even though I haven’t had the best of luck at my home event in Coffs, I am looking forward to it because I am due for a good run,” Keough said.
“To have an expectation in a rally in ballsy. You have to roll with the punches and see what you get dealt, so if I can step out of the car at the end of the day, I’ll be happy.
“It’s also good to have an international event in Coffs Harbour, and I am sure there will be lots going on, but we have a pretty tough championship in NSW and if you can do well, there you’re doing pretty well in general.
“Looking forward to getting back into it and hopefully I won’t make any mistakes.”
The event will also be hosting the both East Coast Classic Rally 2WD and 4WD Series, the NSW Clubman Rally Series and NSW Hyundai Rally Series – with six crews entered in the latter two competition.
Click here to view the entry list.
For spectator information and to register for free tickets, head to www.rally.com.au/coffscoast.
The Supercheap Auto Coffs Coast Rally takes place in and around the forests of Coffs Harbour on 25-27 November.
