The Australian Rally Championship in now widely regarded to be one of the more thrilling national championships in the world, and was the series that Australia's very own Chris Atkinson was very successful in before moving onto the world rally championship (WRC). The series features 6 events that areal very, very different in their characteristics, and span across the country from Perth in Western Australia, to the tarmac of Burnie in Tasmania, and up into Queensland for the round based in the Sunshine Coast that is also a round of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. Each event is unique, and the challenges of each are equally unique.

The Australian Rally Championship is predominantly gravel based and that is what makes it so exciting, as the level of grip changes dramatically from one state of Australia to another.

Forest Rally, Perth, Western Australia

The interesting feature regarding Western Australia is the road surface. The majority of the narrow gravel roads used are of the world renowned ball bearing gravel construction, and are initially very slippery to drive on when dry. A little rain settles them, and further use settles them again. The world recognition of this surface derives from the many years that Perth was the home of Australia's World Rally Championship (WRC) Round.

The excitement and real thrill comes from learning to adjust to the flow of the roads on this surface, although some of the newer roads used in this event are actually based on a harder material. The ball bearing gravel means that the car slides around a lot more, and that braking needs to occur earlier. The satisfaction of getting it right however, and setting some good times is hard to top. The feeling of total empowerment that you will get from edging towards the grip limit on these roads is immense and amazing, and you will really get the sense that you are controlling the uncontrollable. The Forest Rally is based south of Perth, in a beautiful seaside town called Busselton, and utilises roads nearby that were used in the previous World Rally Championship around there.

Rally of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

The Rally of Canberra is a very different event from the Perth event. The roads are narrow, tricky, and are quite unforgiving if you go at all wide in the wrong place. It is a tactical event, as going flat out all the time may not serve you. A little thinking, some stage by stage tactics, and keeping your rally car in the middle of the road are all key ingredients to getting a good result in this event. This rally features the infamous "Mineshaft" special stage, with a massively sharp decline of a 1 in 3 gradient. Very exciting!

The surface is very hard for the most part, and our service crew will be keeping very busy changing tyres on the car every time that you see them, as it has a very abrasive surface. The rally has quite a few crests along the course, and so you will quickly adapt to flying through the air, following your well written pacenotes that you wrote 2 days beforehand. Your trusty co-driver will be your eyes now! Listening to your co-driver will take on a whole new meaning for you during the event, although under the solid guidance of our expert team, you will excel, and bring the car home safely in a good position, sideways to victory.

Rally Queensland, Sunshine Coast, Queensland

This event requires yet another car setup and driving style change. The event starts from Caloundra, which is a wonderful location on the coast north of Brisbane. You will have a great deal of fun with us here, as the social aspect to the event is as major as the competitive side.

The roads are predominantly hard and packed down, although a couple are a little looser. This event is the Australian round of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, and so you will be able to compare yourself directly to the best teams and drivers in the Asia-Pacific Region. The roads are quite challenging, and can be narrow and quite slippery in places, as a few Special Stages run on a clay based surface underneath overhanging trees. Whilst a little care is needed on these parts, the great buzz of this rally is that there is huge variation. You will come out of one of the narrow, slippery areas, and go straight out onto a wide, fast, smooth highway style of road, where you can be absolubtely flat - out in top gear!. It features real changes of pace. This is where the excitement comes from, especially when you are hard on the gas over a crest and then downhill into a fast right hand bend that you can take in 4th gear! It is an amazing and testing rally, with car reliability being a big issue here due to the harshness of the roads, and unforgiving terrain.

It is certainly not to be missed, which is why it is most definitely part of the 2009 Repco Rally Challenge. So sign up now, and be part of the rush.

Rally of South Australia, South Australia

This event has the reputation of including some of the fastest roads in the country as Special Stages, and it will be quite normal for you to be in top gear for long periods of time during this event.

It is an event that usually draws more spectators than any other Australian Rally Championship round, mainly due to excellent promotion. It features roads that are predominantly fast and wide, with fewer close trees than other events. The stages are smooth, and so tyre wear and mechanical damage are somewhat reduced. The real change that completely alters this event is rain, as it has occurred a couple or times in the past, and it really alters everything. The base surface contains a lot of clay, and so it becomes incredibly slippery when wet, and it can be very inconsistent also in terms of where the slippery parts may be.

All in all, this event is a different challenge again, and if you like real high-speed rallying, then this is the event for you.

Tassie Rally Challenge, Burnie, Tasmania

This is a brand new event for the Australian Rally Championship, and so data and information will come to light as we move along. What is known though is that it is all on tarmac, and reports from the first running of the event recently are very favourable.The event is based around Burnie in Tasmania, and has a mix of fast open roads, as well as some tighter, twistier roads that run underneath the trees.

It is the first time that a tarmac rally has been included in the Australian Rally Championship, and it has received tremendous support from all of the current competitors. It will be your chance to put your skills to the test in an exciting environment, and will bring you the exhilaration of once again beating the odds in a purpose built Racesource Rally Car, controlling the uncontrollable.

Coffs Harbour Rally, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales

This is a truly amazing rally, with great roads, great buzzes, great people, and a huge social side. The roads used have a real variation of speed in amongst the various Special Stages, and retain the famous "Banana Plantations" as part of one of the stages. The roads are narrow and loose in places, fast and flowing in others. The journey will take you some truly spectacular scenery, as most of the stages are reasonably close to Coffs harbour, which is one of the more scenic North Coast country towns in New South Wales. The event is actually based from the Novotel Opal Cove Resort in Coffs Harbour, which makes for a really easy event with a true holiday feel.

You will get to feel the fantastic feeling of total car control during this event, as the changing nature of the Special Stages create this. The tight, narrow, loose early stages will have you building confidence, and will soon have you in amazement of the grip that can be achieved from the Racesource Rally Car and tyre combination. You will quickly learn to defy logic, physics, and gravity as you get to slide our car through these great stages.

The stages do have a predominantly hard base, which has a splattering of loose gravel on top, which can be pushed away quickly by earlier competitors, giving you some great grip. This event will test you, and you will sense that this form of motorsport is the ultimate in driving achievement... And few people ever master it, and you are about to become one of them, with our assistance.

And then there is the social aspect. Relaxing in the spa at the Novotel Opal Cove Resort is a great way to go, and then you can go back to the sizeable and luxurious 5-star villa houses that we will accommodate you in, along with your service crew for the weekend, in order that you can discuss tactics with them and us whilst listening to the ocean not far away, and having a well - earned beverage.