ARC struggles, Rally Australia flourishes, classic rallying thrives
The decade began with no significant manufacturer involvement in Australian rallying. In several states and at the national level, costs were escalating and fields were reducing, placing ever great strain on organisers and their budgets. Increased safety measures, including the introduction of RallySafe in 2013, were positive developments, but they all come at a cost.
State level special stage rallying continued to be dominated by PRC cars, almost exclusively Subaru WRXs and Evo Lancers. Club Rally Cars were still around even managed to win the odd state championship. Classic cars were becoming ever more popular, but costs were escalating there also.
After a shaky start in 2009, Rally Australia adopted Coffs Harbour as its home from 2011 and became a very successful annual WRC event from 2013. Sadly, the decade ended with its last minute cancellation due to bushfires, and it is doubtful whether a WRC event will ever be seen again in Australia.
The Australian Rally Championship saw some great battles, but early in the decade it was mostly between privately entered Subarus and Lancers. ARCcom made the bold decision in 2012 to take the ARC “2WD only” in the hope of attracting manufacturers, and introduced the G2 category. It worked to an extent with Honda, Renault and Citroen taking the bait, but it was not enough – the number of cars was small and the spectators wanted to see the 4WD cars (or at least rear wheel drive ones such as Jack Monkhouse’s Nissan Silvia). The 4WD cars returned in 2016 and the change brought Subaru and Toyota back into the championship with Molly Taylor and the Bates brothers. The local AP4 and G4 categories were introduced, as well as allowing for the FIA categories under which several Skoda Fabias appeared, winning the driver’s title in 2018.
Classic rallying was thriving, with the bi-annual Alpine Rally attracting 100+ entries throughout the decade and the bi-annual Classic Outback Trial running successfully, including two visits to the Red Centre. In 2018 the East Coast Classic Rally series was launched.