Darren Crozier will be a prominent feature in the 2026 EROAD Australian Rally Championship (ARC) season after the Victorian recently announced his official entry.
Having previously announced his desire to take on this year’s ARC after purchasing a Ford Fiesta G4 from Adrian Stratford, Crozier has confirmed his place in the opening three rounds of the season.
Starting off with a trip to Queensland for the season-opening Rally Queensland, Crozier will then head to the opposite side of the country for the popular Forest Rally before contesting the ARC’s newest event, the Narooma Forest Rally.
Visits to Tasmania, South Australia and Gippsland are yet to be fully locked in, however Crozier is likely to make the second half of the season pending budget and his results in the WOLF Cup and the outright championship.
“The commitment to do the full season is always there, but there are a lot of outside influences, including budget and work commitments, especially Western Australia – however I did that ages ago so I am keen to get back,” Crozier said.
“It’s good to get that confirmation for Queensland, WA and Narooma – especially as I don’t have much experience there. I think the biggest challenge will be the distance first and then the extra days off, but we’ll get around that as we have a good thing that we’re building.
“I think without too much fuss, we should be pretty competitive, but we’re going to events where we haven’t been for up to 20 years so we might be behind a number of the more experienced crews.
“We’re just going to aim to accumulate some points in the opening few events and then dig a bit deeper when we get to rallies we know really well, like South Australia, which I have done a couple of times.
“South Australia and Gippsland will likely come naturally as we’ve already got really good notes for those. Tassie is a bit of an unknown, but I’m looking forward to that challenge.”
As for the car itself, Crozier got his first taste of the G4 at last year’s The Middle of Everywhere Gippsland Rally, where he drove zero car for the event – a successful test.
“We had the car for a few days before Gippsland and we had just enough time to get the basics sorted, but we hadn’t driven the car at all before the first stage, so it was a bit of a challenge to be the first car on wet roads,” Crozier added.
“Pretty soon, I knew it was a completely different vehicle to the Subaru, so we worked our way into the event and we were pleased to finish both days with no troubles.
“The car is pretty amazing and Adrian has done a really good job with that car. It has only done five or six events and has already won a state championship, so credit to Adrian as he has done a great job.
“The car does everything we need it to do and I am looking forward to further development. I am very happy with everything and keen to get the season started.”
While Crozier will have his sights set on some WOLF Cup silverware and some big results in addition to his ARC campaign, he has found a way to give back to the rally community.
For the 2026 Victorian Rally Championship season, Crozier’s DRC Auto Electrical & 4×4 will be the naming rights partner, as he looks to help state-level drivers with a pathway to the top level in the country – a sponsorship that will be in full effect at the season finale in November.
Crozier and the rest of the ARC begin the 2026 season in Gympie for Rally Queensland on 17-19 April.
