Nabiac hosts a weekend of fierce rally competition

The TC Hydraulics Multi-Club S1 Rallysprint was run on the club's 4.5 kilometre rally circuit which provided a good variety of road conditions (some wet parts were left over from the overnight rain) with a combination of twisty corners and top gear straights.

There was nothing rough enough to cause any car damage and the only withdrawals were due to mechanical failure and one brush with a tree (only eight cars out of 52 were not classified as finishers).

There has been a lack of rallies over the last couple of years due to floods, fires and COVID so events like this are an excellent way to find out what might break before going in a 150km rally a long way from home.

The event was Round 3 of the NSW S1 Rally Sprint Championship series. The "S1" in the name indicates that it is an entry-level event where fireproof clothing, full roll cages and frontal head restraints are not mandatory.

These events are a perfect way for beginners to enter motor sport, as they don't require expensive machinery (although fully prepared and equipped rally cars can compete) and the length is much shorter than a conventional rally.

Being able to run a normal road car with its legal safety equipment (seat belts) and with the only expense being for a fire extinguisher and helmet allows people to come and try.

With 52 starters doing six runs each it was a busy day. Because of where Nabiac is, the majority of competitors came from the local area around Taree, Forster, Bulahdelah and Gloucester, but a few cars and trailers came from outside the region.

The top three placings were Andrew Maurer/Brett Kerr, Steven Murray/Tim Pickard and Jason Parrott/Michael Fraser.

Event director Rob O'Toole should be congratulated for running an excellent event and CNCSCC for the standard of the facilities. With more places like this to compete and learn there would be far more opportunities for people to learn to love rallying.

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