This year’s Rally of Canberra will look somewhat similar to last year’s event as it kicks off the 2024 Bosch Motorsport Australia Rally Championship (ARC) season in April.
Event organisers are anticipating some minor changes to the notoriously challenging rally, with crews to complete more than 180 competitive kilometres over 12 stages.
While there won’t be a significant change to the format or to the roads in use, event organisers have still had to make some adjustments.
The first notable change will be the Power Stage, which will return to the popular Bald Hill Stage, having switched to the shorter Settlement Stage in 2023.
The event’s opening stage, Oakey Creek, will also be slightly altered due to several reasons, with the middle of the stage to be revamped over the next few weeks.
Re-live the epic EROAD Power Stage from the 2023 Rally of Canberra.
With a small turnaround between the 2023 and 2024 events, Clerk of Course Adrian Dudok was pleased the event was already in good shape so early on.
“Preparation for the event is all going well. It will be very similar to last year, so most of the work is already done,” Dudok said.
“With that said, there will still be changes to Oakey Creek, which must be redone due to forestry requirements, and switching Bald Hill back to the Power Stage.
“Oakey Creek will change because the Government has classified multiple sections of the forest as catchment zones following the bushfires, and as a result, 600 metres of the stage goes through that area, which we have to change.
“Outside of that, it will be cut and paste in many aspects. For us, everything important is mostly done and ready to go, while competitors could save time and money in reconnaissance, as they will likely have done it already.
“It truly is a win-win situation for all, and we look forward to having the ARC back again.”
Entries for the 2024 Rally of Canberra open on 12 February, with the event itself taking place in and around the forests of Tidbinbilla and Kowen on 5-7 April.
