After a lengthy gap between rounds, the EROAD Australian Rally Championship (ARC) is back this weekend with the highly anticipated Forest Rally in Western Australia.
Taking place in the picturesque forests of Nannup on 24–25 May, the popular event takes on an international twist in 2025 with a number of crews from outside the country making their ARC debuts.
Headlining the list of fresh faces is 2020 FIA Junior World Rally Championship winner and Polish champion Tom Kristensson, who makes his way from Sweden having just won the most recent round of the Swedish Rally Championship.
The likes of Irish guns Frank Kelly and Patrick O’Brien, and Kiwi Graeme Ferguson, add to the international star power of the event, which features European Rally Champion Hayden Paddon – the New Zealander keen to bounce back after an incident in Canberra curtailed his brilliant start to the season.
The rally also welcomes a host of huge Australian names to Western Australia – the most notable being multiple-time Dakar and Finke Desert Race Champion, Toby Price, who is entered in the Subaru WRX Challenge.
In addition to Price’s entry, there are a host of familiar names to Australian rally fans making their first appearances for the 2025 season, including Troy Dowel and Clayton Hoy – both of whom will be looking to start the year off on a high.
Of course, the Forest Rally will also welcome back the many regular ARC crews from Canberra, led by current championship leader Lewis Bates, and his multiple title rivals in Scott Pedder, Harry Bates and Alex Rullo.
KEY DETAILS
Serving as the second round of the 2025 ARC season, the Forest Rally runs as a Sprint format where points are split into two heats across Saturday and Sunday.
The 39 ARC crews will tackle 184.3 competitive kilometres across 12 stages over the course of the weekend, with Heat 1’s six stages on Saturday making up more than half of the overall distance with 103 kilometres.
The remaining 81 kilometres will take place over six stages on Sunday for Heat 2, which includes the ever-important Milward Power Stage where extra points will be up for grabs for the top five fastest crews in the stage.
Saturday’s action gets underway from 8:56am AWST and concludes around 5:06pm AWST, with three service breaks to occur at the Galvaniize Insurance Rally Central throughout the day.
On Sunday, the first stage begins at 9:22am AWST before the Power Stage wraps up the event from 2:44pm AWST onwards. The event will then hold the final podium celebrations in Galvaniize Insurance Rally Central at 3:45pm AWST.
STAYING IN THE LOOP
There will be plenty of coverage throughout the Forest Rally for fans to stay up to date with all the happenings from the event.
For live results of each stage, as well as the cup and overall standings throughout the event, fans can view the Subaru Results Hub on rally.com.au at any point over the weekend.
Four stages will be live streamed throughout the rally via EROAD Australian Rally Championship’s YouTube and Facebook pages. Below are the times for each:
SS1 Helium 1 – Saturday – 9:05am AWST | 11:05 AEST
SS6 Lewana 2 – Saturday – 4:07pm AWST | 6:07pm AEST
SS8 Ellis 1 – Sunday – 10:08am AWST | 12:08 AEST
SS12 Milward 2 (Power Stage) – Sunday – 2:47pm AWST | 4:47pm AEST
There will also be live updates, crew interviews and extended highlights via the ARC Instagram, Facebook, X and Threads accounts.
SPECTATORS
One of the most accessible events on the ARC calendar for fans, the Forest Rally has an impressive seven available spectator points – all of which are free for fans to attend.
Register a place at any spectator point for free here.
Four of those points are in Saturday’s Heat 1, with both the Helium and Lewana stages having one access point, while Ferndale North has two vantage points for fans.
On Sunday, fans will be treated to a further three viewing points, with the Ferndale, Ellis and Milward stages all having one section for fans to enjoy the action.
Not only will fans be able to see the cars in action during the multiple spectator points, but they will also be able to see the cars up close and personal during the six Service Breaks at Galvaniize Insurance Rally Central – four of which are on Saturday and the remaining two on Sunday.
View the full Spectator Guide.
HIT SOUTHWEST RALLY SHOW
Before the action gets underway on Saturday, fans will be treated to a spectacle on Friday 23 May in the heart of Busselton from 4:30pm AWST.
Taking place at the stunning Busselton Jetty, every registered car in the Forest Rally – which includes all national and state competitors – will be parked up along the jetty for fans to see up close.
Outside of providing fans with the chance to see the cars and meet the drivers, the Rally Show plays a pivotal role in the event, hosting the unique Ballot, which will see the top three seeds – Harry Bates, Scott Pedder and Lewis Bates – take part in the Bosch Motorsport Ballot, which shakes up the starting order for the event.
At 6pm AWST, the cars will officially begin the rally with the traditional Ceremonial Start, where each car is farewelled to the event.
The Forest Rally takes place in Western Australia’s Busselton and Nannup on 23–25 May.
Get more information on the event via rally.com.au/forestrally
