Subaru has once again come on board as a sponsor for the Rally of Canberra. Photo: Subaru Canberra Rally of Canberra.
The ‘ROC’ is back!
Technically, the Rally of Canberra hasn’t gone anywhere – our local rally action has just been known as the National Capital Rally (NatCap) for so long, but those around in the early 2000s will fondly remember when Subaru was the major sponsor and Canberra’s own homegrown Neal Bates rocketed to four-time champion.
Then there was also the ‘Mineshaft’ – a section of the track that dropped steeply down to a water crossing on Paddy’s River, and one that would routinely send cars literally into the air.
The Mineshaft stage might have been closed for safety reasons, but yes, those days are back.
The Brindabella Motorsports Club has resurrected the ROC name and secured sponsorship from the Subaru Canberra dealership in Phillip ahead of a return in early November.
Clerk of the course Adrian Dudok says the traditional track layout has lost a number of roads due to the 2003 bushfires – and the fact the Cotter catchment has become an exclusion zone – but it’s still set to be the “test of man and machine” the Rally of Canberra always has been.
“Rallying used to be a test of driver, co-driver and the reliability of the vehicle,” he says.
“That’s Canberra all over. It’s very technical. As a former co-driver, I can say you’ve got to be on the ball, and the same for the driver. It’s hard work.”
Canberra has earned a name as the “spiritual home of rallying” since the early 1970s when the annual Castrol International Rally took over dirt tracks in the Kowen Forest and Cotter areas, as well as those around where Tuggeranong stands today.
The Rally of Canberra began in 1988 when the Australian Rally Championship (ARC) designated it as a round of a national championship that takes in all six states. International drivers turned up again from 1999 for the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship.
These glory days are the ones everyone remembers.
“I talked to everybody and they all refer to it as the Rally of Canberra,” Adrian says.
“So we thought, ‘bugger, let’s just give them what they want’, and we’ll go back to calling it the Rally of Canberra, and particularly now with the Subaru connection with Subaru Canberra.”
Getting air. Photo: Subaru Canberra Rally of Canberra, Facebook.
For 2023, there are 12 stages across a total of 180 kilometres. Competition will take place in the forests west of Canberra within the Tidbinbilla and Cotter regions on Saturday, 18 November, before crews return to the familiar roads of Kowen Forrest on the Sunday. The service point will be in Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC).
Adrian’s son Jon Dudok is the general manager at Subaru Canberra and remembers racing his father’s Ford Mark 1 Escort around the same roads with his brother.
“Supporting the ROC and helping create new rally memories for the next generation brings a great source of pride to the dealership,” Jon says.
“The old Subaru Rally of Canberra was a big part of my upbringing, and I have many great family memories from the forests around Canberra.”
There’s more reason to get all nostalgic too.
Harry and Lewis Bates will not only be following in their father’s footsteps and racing in the event, but also – as the maths would have it – the winner of the 2023 Bosch Motorsport Australia Rally Championship is likely to come down to the last 3 km of the final stage.
“We’re coming into the last round of the championship, and it just so happens that Harry and I have the most points in the championship this year, and nobody else can mathematically win,” Lewis explains.
“Harry and I are best mates away from competition, but when the helmets go on, and we get into the rally, then we get into it as rivals, and we’re definitely trying to beat each other.”
Harry and Lewis Bates: friendship and brotherly love ends when they take to the track. Photo: James Coleman.
The most family-friendly place to watch the action is at Kowen Forest, near Queanbeyan, on Sunday, 19 November, where the champions will also ascend the podium and be presented with the trophies.
But there will also be traditional spectator points in the forests near the Cotter Reserve and Uriarra Village on Saturday, 18 November.
The service point at EPIC is also open to people who want to get up close with the cars and drivers and is accessible via light rail from the city.
Visit Rally of Canberra for more information.
Loading ...
