| Rally Australia | |
|---|---|
| Status | active |
| Genre | motorsporting event |
| Frequency | annual |
| Country | Australia |
| Inaugurated | 1988 |
| Most recent | 2018 |
Rally Australia is an automobile rally event which was held in Coffs Harbour as the final leg of the World Rally Championship (WRC) until 2018.
First run in 1988, the rally was held in and around Perth, Western Australia until 2006. It was part of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship in 1988 and the WRC from 1989 to 2006. The rally returned in 2009 to the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales in early September and alternated with Rally New Zealand for 2010 and 2012 before becoming an annual fixture again in its own right from 2013. From 2011 the event was relocated to Coffs Harbour.[1] As of August 2019[update], the Rally Australia event did not have a contract with WRC to be part of the World Championship beyond 2019.[2]
The event has also been a round of the Australian Rally Championship although not consistently as the ARC technical regulations has been incompatible with the WRC in some years. Similarly the Western Australian Rally Championship has also been a part of Rally Australia during its Perth-based history.
During the years when Rally New Zealand replaced Rally Australia on the WRC calendar, the rally was run as an Australian Rally Championship round, titled Coffs Coast Rally.
- ^ Evans, David (29 September 2010). "Rally Australia moves to new location". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- ^ Evans, David (24 April 2019). "New Zealand tipped for one-off return to WRC calendar for 2020". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 5 May 2019.