With access to the traditional areas of the North Eastern Rally becoming more difficult, in no small way a result of the Hancocks lockout of pine plantation in 2001, the North Eastern Car Club combined forces with the Albury Wodonga District Car Club to launch a new “mountain” event in 2016. So was born the Mitta Mountain Rally, based on the village of Mitta Mitta and utilising superb mountain toads both north and south of the town. Ross Runnalls was instrumental in developing the concept, in part because of his intimate knowledge of the available forestry roads in the area.