This month’s Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland will serve as the 50th edition of a RSEA Safety Motorsport Australia Rally Championship (ARC) round taking place in Queensland.
With the first ever round forming part of the six-round inaugural 1968 ARC season, a lot has changed since Harry Firth and former Motorsport Australia President Graham Hoinville took out the Ampol Warana Rally.
Run by the Brisbane Sporting Car Club (BSCC) between 1968 and 2015, the event was held in multiple towns across Queensland over that period with Brisbane and Maroochydore hosting the event before it moved permanently to Gympie.
The rally also enjoyed international status for quote some time hosting rounds of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship.
While it didn’t take place in 1988, the event was conducted every year after by the BSCC before being moved to a different promoter for the 2016 edition. It fell off the calendar entirely in 2017 and returned to the national stage last year.
With the BSCC having run 48 out of the past 49 editions of the popular event since 1968, Club President Dom Corkeron was excited to be part of what will be its 50th anniversary.
“Rally Queensland is a significant part of Australia’s rich rallying history and this club has long contributed to that history having run 48 events already,” Corkeron said.
“This rally has long been our headline event as it’s the biggest on our calendar year-after-year so running the 50th as an ARC round is a testament to our club members both past and present for all the hard work.
“Of course, it was a shame that Queensland was off the national calendar for a few years, however we’re thrilled to be back and ARC crews seem to enjoy the roads, so hopefully there are another 50 more years to come.”
The 2022 Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland takes place in Gympie on 22-24 July.
Feature photo: CH Images
