After weeks of waiting, the 2025 EROAD Australian Rally Championship (ARC) hits its crescendo this weekend for the highly anticipated Buckby Motors Rally Tasmania.
With four titles up for grabs, the stage is set for an epic season finale for the sport as 23 ARC crews battle it out on the beautiful roads of Burnie, Tasmania.
Making up the event are 217 competitive kilometres spread over 14 impressive stages, eight of which take place on Saturday and the remaining six on Sunday, including the Power Stage.
While there will be plenty of exciting narratives to come out of the event, with the likes of Kiwi star Emma Gilmour, the returning Richie Dalton and others, all eyes will be on the main title fight between current championship leader Hayden Paddon and 2022 champion, Lewis Bates.
Just 110 points are up for grabs this weekend, and with 85 splitting the two title contenders, there is a lot that needs to swing in the favour of Bates if he is to add to his title.
The equation for Bates is simple – nothing short of a victory will suffice for him to win the title, and even then, he will need Paddon well outside the top 10 at the end of the rally and to beat him on the Power Stage – a tall order considering Paddon’s only non-scoring heat this year was when he was hit by a kangaroo at the start of the year.
In addition to the outright title fight, there is also the WOLF Production Cup, ARC Classic, 4WD Cup and Subaru WRX Challenge that will all be decided this weekend, making it an exciting conclusion to a memorable season.
Overall, the EROAD Australian Rally Championship’s second visit to the picturesque beachside town of Burnie will be an exciting return.
View the full entry list here.
KEY DETAILS
As the sixth and final round of the 2025 ARC season, the Buckby Motors Rally Tasmania sees off a memorable year in the sport with the second Endurance event of the season where every stage counts to a final time and all points are awarded at the end of the weekend.
The 22 ARC crews will tackle more than 200 competitive kilometres during the weekend, with eight stages on Saturday totalling up to 102km, while the event’s remaining 115km are to be run on Sunday, including one of the biggest stages of the weekend, Mawbanna where crews will complete 43 competitive kilometres.
The surviving battle of the fittest will kick off on Saturday morning from 9:15am AEDT with Oonah (SS1) before wrapping up the day at Blackfish 2 (SS8). Crews will then continue on Sunday with Newhaven 1 (SS9) at 8:27am AEDT and concludes at 4:23pm AEDT through the ever-important Power Stage (SS14).
STAYING IN THE LOOP
There will be plenty of coverage throughout Buckby Motors Rally Tasmania 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.
Five stages will be live-streamed throughout the rally via EROAD Australian Rally Championship’s YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.
Below are the estimated start times for each.
Saturday
SS3 Preolenna 10:34:00
SS6 Meunna 2 14:59:00
Sunday
SS10 Mawbanna 9:24:00
SS12 Newhaven 2 13:32:00
SS14 Blackfish Rev 2 16:23:00
Friday night’s Rally Show will also be live streamed from 6:30pm AEDT, which will include the Bosch Motorsport Ballot.
There will also be live updates, crew interviews and extended highlights via the ARC Instagram, Facebook, X and Threads accounts.
SPECTATORS
Unlike most of the ARC rounds this year, the Buckby Motors Rally Tasmania Spectator Stage will feature at one location in Oldina Forest Reserve during the weekend, but boasts the unique element of having multiple vantage points and stages – all live and free.
Known as Haywards Rally Village Powered by Walsh Towing, the Spectator Village will have food and drink stalls available and live commentary and will have cars first drive by at 11:17am AEDT on Saturday for SS4 before returning again at 4:09pm AEDT for SS8.
For those unable to see the cars on stage, they can see the cars being worked on via the important Service Breaks at Alpha Electrics & Water Hire Solutions Service Park at Galvaniize Insurance Rally Central which is located at Wivenhoe Recreational Ground.
Fans can see the cars during the multiple service breaks at Galvaniize Insurance Rally Central with two on Saturday and two on Sunday before the official podium presentation takes place at 5:30pm AEDT.
Read the full Spectator Guide.
RALLY SHOW
On Friday night, the event officially kicks off in style from 5pm AEDT.
Taking place on the beautiful Burnie Waterfront Foreshore, all ARC and State Championship cars will be on display for fans to get up close and personal with, as well as having all the drivers in attendance.
The top three seeded drivers in Harry Bates, Lewis Bates and Hayden Paddon will participate in the Bosch Motorsport Ballot, which shakes up the trio’s starting order for the event before crews depart from around 6:45pm.
The 2025 Buckby Motors Rally Tasmania takes place in Burnie and its surrounding forests on 7-9 November.
Get more information on the event via rally.com.au/Tasmania.
