This year’s The Middle of Everywhere Gippsland Rally will see 37 crews battle the fourth round of the Bosch Motorsport Australia Rally Championship – the biggest field so far this season.
Leading the ARC field away on the opening stage will be Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia’s Harry Bates and Coral Taylor – the pair holding a narrow Championship lead over car two on the road, Scott Pedder and Glenn Macneall in their Pedders Suspension & Brakes Skoda Fabia R5.
A number of familiar faces return for the outright battle in Victoria, including the Maguire brothers, the father-son pair of Alex and Peter Rullo, Tom Clark and Ryan Preston in their Ford Fiesta, along with the Luff brothers in their Toyota GR Yaris.
The MainFix Production ARC Cup promises to deliver another highly competitive battle with Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland winner Clayton Hoy returning for another round, this time with Erin Kelly in the co-driver seat. Hoy will be up against a host of competitive entries, including but not limited to Molly Taylor, 2023 winner Bodie Reading, Danny Traverso, Josh Wiedman, Aidan Peterson and Molly Spalding to name just a handful.
This round also sees the debut of the highly anticipated Subaru WRX Challenge, with three crews lining up for the opening round of the new one-make series.
The three pairings featuring in the new and exciting class will be Glenn Brinkman and Scott Beckwith, Timothy Clark and Leonie Clark, as well as Garry Yeomans and Kam Baker.
The battles also continue in the other class battles with competitive fields for the Trenching Systems Australia 2WD Classic ARC Cup (four entries), the ARC Junior Cup (five), as well as the 2WD ARC Cup (two).
The Middle of Everywhere Gippsland Rally will also welcome an additional Toyota GR Yaris, with Japanese pair Nao Otake and Hideki Takeyabu joining the ARC for the first time.
A further 26 cars are entered solely in the Motorsport Australia Victorian Rally Championship bringing the total entry list to a healthy 63 cars.
Clerk of the Course Andrew Roseman said the entry list showcased some of the best rallying talent across Australia and locally in Victoria.
“We’re thrilled with the entry list and excited to be welcoming 63 crews and their teams, along with a large number of spectators, to the Gippsland region for this brilliant event,” Roseman said.
“To have the biggest ARC field of the year highlights the strength of the overall Championship in 2024 but also the interest in our event, as well as rallying in Victoria.
This article was published on rally.com.au