Rallycross in Australia has a new series, called Rallycross Australia, and we were there to cover their first event which was run on Sunday the 26th February in NSW at the Marulan Dirt & Tar Circuit.
The team behind the RallyCross Australia event include Will Orders, Justin Dowel and Rob Bolger (Seen below with the championship Trophy). Three guys with great Motorsport experience behind them.
There was a great variety of cars at the event, with 11 entries in 4 different classes, with everything from Will Orders Mitsubishi Evo Lancer’s, to Justin Dowel’s 550hp Hyundai I20 Evo Hybrid, Two VW polo’s an Audi S2 and a Hyundai Excel.
The day began with the cars split into the different classes with each group then getting practice sessions, followed by heats to sort out the fastest cars in each class to lead up to the Superfinal at the end of the day.
Stand outs from the day were the battle between the two young guns, 14 year old Sean Bolger and 16 year old Troy Dowel both in VW Polo’s.
Justin Dowel lead the charge in the open class through out the day in his hybrid Hyundai I20 with Mitsubishi Lancer Evo engine and running gear.
While one of his biggest challengers Will Orders in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 6 battled with mechanical problems but sorted them in time to win his class final to progress to the Superfinal.
Michael Hardings flamboyant driving style in his Subaru WRX was another highlight from the day.
The Super Final which hosted the fastest 8 cars on the day, featured at great line up of cars.
It came down to a battle between Will Orders in his Mitsubishi and Michael Coyne in his Mazda, after Justin Dowel had issues with his Hyundai forcing him to park it and watch the race from the sideline. After leaving his Joker lap to very last Lap, Orders went on to take the Super final win from Coyne and Troy Dowel 3rd.
It should be a great championship this year, as the interest in the series grows.
It is a pretty easy series for current Rally cars to compete in as minimal changes are required to enter the series and events.
The next event is back at Marulan on the 14th of May.
For more information about the championship can be found here
Check out the mega gallery of images from the event below.
Australian Rallycross – How the Aussie put their spin on the sport.
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3 responses to “Australian Rallycross – How the Aussie put their spin on the sport.”
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At first the 6th photo with the Polo & Subaru looks like there is about to be a big crash!
How good would it be if they were allowed to use the Catalina circuit at Katoomba, where they used to run rallycross back in the 70s. Hopefully they will expand into Victoria too – could use Calder, the Thunderdome could probably provide some good jumps these days.-
There have been talks about a Victorian circuit. Just need to find a location that works
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Yes, which is why I suggested Calder. I don’t know exactly how it used to run, but it may be possible to recreate the old infield dirt section providing it exits onto the west side of the circuit so it doesn’t drag mud onto the drag strip. Perhaps incorporate the large mounds on the west side? How did the rally event go there a few years back – would that work? It looks like they only use the circuit for drifting at this point.
Otherwise perhaps Bryant Park/Haunted Hills hillclimb track, or the future track at Mildura might work. Maybe even the new South Australian Riverland complex (ex-Mitsubishi proving ground). There are a few dirt-only circuits that might work in a pinch, eg Bagshot.
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