ARC- Motorsports Australia recently announced a revised Australian Rally Championship (ARC) calendar for 2025. There will be six exciting rounds of high-speed racing and a few subtle changes which are designed to enhance the appeal of the ARC.
One of the most eye-catching moves involves Motorsports Australia, with the governing body relinquishing exclusive control over the series at the end of the 2024 season.
They will join forces with Innate Event Group to run the ARC. Innate is owned by ARC boss Adrian Coppin and his wife Jill. He has left his role at Motorsports Australia to focus on running the ARC.
Coppin is excited about what the future holds for rallying in Australia and has already started mapping out a plan to take ARC up a notch from 2025 onwards.
“My wife and I have an events business, and she’s been running that and doing a great job, but it’s time for us both to jump back into that,” Coppin said.
“But I didn’t want to leave the ARC – it’s my passion project, and I didn’t want it to be left when there’s more potential to be unlocked.
“I also think there’s more potential to be unlocked with it run as a private entity because it can really be commercialised as opposed to falling under the broader Motorsport Australia event arm.
“And that led to this agreement for a 50/50 joint venture from 2025, but with Innate Event Group having full operational and majority share to run it and take it into hopefully another successful chapter.”
Bates Could Shine Again Next Year IN ARC
With this year’s campaign drawing to a close, motorsports fans and bookmakers are keeping a close eye on the top competitors in the championship standings.
Harry Bates is on course to secure back-to-back championships and he should see off the competition provided he avoids any major mishaps at Rally Tasmania next month.
The chances of Bates missing out on the ARC championship are slim at best, and bookmakers will fancy him to make it a trio of title successes next season.
The competition will be fierce with several other drivers likely to be in contention, but betting sites will rate Bates as the odds-on favourite given his recent successes.
However, motorsports fans will expect a closely contested contest in 2025, and punters could be in for a nail-biting betting experience next season.
The New Calendar Marks a New Era
The 2025 ARC season will kick off in Canberra from March 21-23, which is a little earlier than usual.
The season usually begins in April, but bringing it forward paves the way for Rally Canberra to help shine a light on the nation’s capital.
The second round of the ARC will be Western Australia’s Forest Rally starting from May 23-25 before the action moves to Rally Queensland in early July.
The Gippsland Rally has been scheduled for August 8-10, while the penultimate round of the season – Adelaide Hills Rally – has been moved from its usual mid-September spot to October 3-5.
The ARC season culminates with Rally Tasmania. However, the 2025 season will wrap up a little earlier than this year’s edition, with the event set to take place in Burnie from November 7-9.
Organisers of the event believe that concluding the final race earlier than usual will allow the season to run more smoothly. More importantly, it helps them avoid clashing with other major motorsport events and gives teams more time to prepare for future challenges.
The 2025 calendar launch coincides with the release of the ARC’s new sporting and technical regulations.
However, Motorsport Australia has confirmed that the schedule tweak will not affect the rules, which are expected to remain unchanged for the next three years.