Fan favourite Richie Dalton believes he will return to the EROAD Australian Rally Championship in 2026, with a part-time program his most likely option.
The Irishman made just one appearance in the 2025 ARC season, where he produced a highly respectable fourth in the Buckby Motors Rally Tasmania – 12 months after recording a fifth-place finish at the same event.
Off the back of his two strong results, Dalton has confirmed he will appear at more events in 2026 behind the wheel of the Toyota GR Yaris AP4, with his most likely rounds to be in Western Australia and New South Wales, while there is a possibility for Tasmania too.
Should he complete all three rounds, it will be his busiest campaign in the ARC since 2022, where he ran in all six rounds of the championship to finish the year in third place.
And while Dalton has produced top-five finishes in the past two ARC events, he believes his hopes of a maiden ARC victory look just out of reach.
“I am proud of my fourth place at Tasmania last month, but it was certainly an eye-opener for me,” Dalton said.
“I was certainly the next best outside of the Rally2 cars, and found myself a bit in no man’s land throughout the event. I was happy with my progress overall and I definitely felt like I stepped up my pace this year.
“With that said, I felt like everyone has stepped up their pace, so it’s hard to stay motivated to get that victory – especially when I feel like my only opportunities to get podiums are on a technicality when others fail around me.
“Being a privateer entry, I know my fastest years are behind me and I can’t necessarily justify the purchasing of a Rally2 car, so right now I think it will just be about enjoying the events I can attend.
“I am keen to do Western Australia, I will run in Narooma as I am doing the New South Wales Rally Championship, and there might be a possibility for a visit to Tasmania, but everything else is up in the air.
“On the side, I am building a brand-new modified escort, which is exciting and I will likely send that to New Zealand in March for the Otago Rally before returning home for a few possible national events.”
With Dalton to miss the 2026 EROAD Australian Rally Championship season opener in Queensland on 17–19 April, he will likely be back in the championship for the popular Forest Rally in Western Australia on 22–24 May.
