After last year’s event was cancelled due to the pandemic, the Lazer Rally of The Bay will make its long awaited return to Batemans Bay this weekend.
President of North Shore Sporting Car Club that runs the Rally of the Bay is encouraging locals to get along and support the event that injects upwards of $75,000 into the local economy.
“I think the hot news is that the main service park and start and finish for the rally is now at Surfside Oval on the northside of Batemans Bay,” Mr Middleton said.
“Previously we’ve been down at Corrigans Beach but unfortunately the green park area is a little bit too soft for all of our vehicles,” he said.
“So that’s going to be the Rally Action Point for watching all the teams but of course there is the Spectator Point on the southern side of Batemans Bay on Saturday for people who want to see the rally action.”
Mr Middleton told East Coast Radio they’ve had a few cancellations due to COVID.
“We’ve got teams coming from Victoria, Canberra, Queensland and the majority are coming from New South Wales which is part of the NSW State Championship,” Mr Middleton said.
“We originally had 70 cars as a full field competing in the event but with a few withdrawals in the last couple of days.
“We’re going to start 65 cars from the Surfside Oval on Saturday morning and they’ll compete all day until a nighttime stage early in the evening with a wrap up and post-event function at the Catalina Club late Saturday night.”
In terms of highlights Mr Middleton said there will be plenty but with a few standouts.
“We’ve got teams from the Australian Rally Championship coming to enter this event and competing with amongst 70 other cars, so there’s certainly lots of action to see,” Mr Middleton said.
“There will be some pretty amazing cars from all over Australia including a championship-winning car run by Richie Dalton, which is a four-wheel-drive turbo Toyota Yaris built by the factory team in Canberra and also Troy Dowell has come up from Victoria who regularly competes in the Australian Rally Championship as well in a similar competitive car.”
A number of roads will be closed around the Batemans Bay area on Saturday for the special event.
The following roads will be closed from 8.20am to 1.45pm:
- Buckenbowra Road from west side of Mogo Village to Ross Ridge Road
- Ross Ridge Road to Quart Pot Road
- Quart Pot Rd to Bolaro Mountain Road
The following roads will be closed from 8am to 1.35pm
- Dog Trap Road 400m from the Princes Highway to The Ridge Road
- The Ridge Road to forest road Cpt 141/1
Other State Forest roads impacted include Lyons Road, Clyde Ridge Road and Western Distributor Road. Various roads within Shoalhaven Shire will also be closed.
Resident access will be allowed when safe, as directed by the organiser.
The Rally of the Bay are still looking for volunteers to assist in the forests on Saturday. No EXPERIENCE is needed. To find out more visit the Rally of the Bay Facebook page or website.
