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Aug 17

AMH Rally of the Bay Cancelled

By Events, Rally, Rally of the Bay 2021, Wheelspin
Photo: Tim and Peter Joass at the 2020 running of the AMH Rally of the Bay – Photo by Bruce Moxon

Organisers of the 2021 AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay have made the difficult decision to cancel the 2021 event due to COVID restrictions and lack of a suitable date to reschedule the popular Eurobodalla based event.

The event was due to run on July the 17th and was rescheduled to the 28th of August when NSW Government ‘Stay at Home’ orders were announced. With the likelihood of further restrictions and an extension of the orders, the event was again postponed with the hope that November 13th could be a new lucky date to run the Rally.

Event Manager Nigel Bland said that several innovative ideas were considered before making the difficult decision to cancel the event.

“We really wanted the event to happen”, Bland said. “We originally wanted to re-schedule the event into November, but with such a tight calendar in place already, and with other events also looking to reschedule, it became quite difficult to really plan on a November rally.” he added

“We also asked our customers and commercial partners for their feedback, and it was a mixed bag of responses. Some teams said they’d support a November date, whilst others thought it was too difficult to contemplate maybe three or four events in a six-week period”, Bland continued.

“So, we started to think outside the box and came up with a plan. We asked the NSW Rally panel if they would consider extending the NSW Rally Championship into 2022, with the AMH Rally of the Bay running around the end of February or beginning of March. We knew it was something a bit different, and the NSW Rally Panel were supportive of the idea. Unfortunately, the NSW Regulatory Body who needed to approve the plan didn’t agree it was the right approach, so we were left back at square one”, Bland continued.

“So that has really left us with no choice, and like many other events this year, we have no other option than to cancel the 2021 event,” Bland concluded.

Brett Middleton is the North Shore Sporting Car Club President and also the rally’s Commercial and Partners Manager. He was dissapointed that the event has not been able to proceed, but was very positive about the events future and also praised the organising team.

“The team have worked extremely hard”, Middleton said. “We’ve been planning and re-planning this event since January and to have to cancel the event is tough on everyone, very few people know the volunteer effort required to run an event like this. But we’ll start planning for the 2022 event straight away and we even have a few new ideas to make the event even better.”

“I really feel for the Community of Batemans Bay and the Eurobodalla region”, Middleton continued. “They’re doing it tough down there and they were looking forward to our event giving the local economy a real boost. We have some great partners, including the Eurobodalla Shire, Batemans Bay Marina Resort and the Village Centre and Bridge Plaza Shopping centre, but despite the event not proceeding, they know we’ve done our best at promoting the event, the shire and our partners”, Middleton continued.

“The team have applied to the NSW Rally Panel for a July 30th date for 2022 and we hope that this gets the go ahead. The team has a great event leader in Nigel Bland and a media team lead by John Mccredie and despite the cancellation, next year looks to be an even better event”, Middleton concluded.

The 2021 AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay was a round of the NSW Rally Championship, East Coast Classic Rally Series, Hyundai Rally Series, Clubman Rally Series, ACT Regional Rally Series and a promotional round of the Australian Rally Championship.

Aug 10

Midstate Freight Oberon Stages Rally Cancelled

By Caves Classic, Events, Oberon Stages, Rally, Wheelspin

Organisers of the 2021 Midstate Freight Oberon Stages Rally have made the difficult decision to cancel the 2021 event due to COVID restrictions and increased Forestry Operations.

With ongoing restrictions in Sydney and beyond, North Shore Sporting Car Club (NSSCC) is not confident that travel constraints will change sufficiently to allow the event to proceed on the 18th of September.

Event director Jon Thomson said the decision was extremely difficult.

“We’re really in a no-win situation, even if we see changes to the lockdown in Sydney, September is likely to see travel restrictions into regional NSW,” Thomson said.

“On top of that, we haven’t had the opportunity to check and write roadbooks, meet with stakeholders or assess road conditions and suitability.”

“Forestry has also increased their operations in the area and many of the roads we’d originally selected are now in sections that are being harvested, meaning we’d need to look for new roads and change many of the stages we had originally planned on using”, Thomson added.

The event organising team looked at moving the event to October, but the calendar is crowded with events and access to volunteers and particularly securing Rallysafe for the event was proving difficult.

“We really have been left with no choice but to cancel the event altogether”, Thomson said.

“It is a great pity as we had some absolutely terrific roads and stages selected for this year’s rally, but we will be back with an even better event in 2022,” he concluded.

The Midstate Freight Oberon Stages Rally was a round of the NSW Rally Championship, East Coast Classic Rally Series and Clubman Rally Series. The organising team is planning on running the event in 2022 and will seek a date from the NSW Rally Panel in due course.

Aug 02

NSSCC e-Series – Results after Round 3

By Rally, Results, Wheelspin

The NSSCC Dirt Rally 2 e-Series is now up to Round 4.  The current Pointscore plus stage results for Monte Carlo and a great video below.

Round 4 is the Rally Finland (DLC Required) in NR4 and R4 cars – competition dates are from the 13th of August to 27th of August.

To enter, purchase the leading rally game Dirt 2.0 on your PC, Mac, Xbox or PlayStation platform.  Once you have purchased and installed Dirt Rally 2.0 on your preferred platform, click here and create a Codemasters account. After you have logged in, you will be able to request access to the NSSCC e-Sports competitions.

Send your racenet username, real name, and NSSCC club ID number to eseries@nsscc.com.au

We will then grant you access to the Club page after which you will be able to join in the competition via the game portal. We will grant access every Monday

Jul 30

AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay pushed back to November

By News, Rally, Rally of the Bay 2021, Wheelspin

The 2021 AMH Rally of the Bay organising team recently met to decide on the 2021 running of the AMH Rally of the Bay. The team considered a range of options and have decided to consult competitors and partners with the view to running the event on the 13th of November.

Event Manager, Nigel Bland said that there are many factors to consider in making any decision and that North Shore Sporting Car Club (NSSCC) has a responsibility to both the Community of Batemans Bay as well as rally teams to run the rally this year.

“We have major partners on the South Coast who supported our event this year, plus some have also been involved with the rally for many years”, Bland said. “We need to do the right thing by these partners and also consider what our competitors want from us”.

“We know our partners want us to proceed, we know the community of Batemans Bay want us to run the rally, so we now need to understand what the majority of our competitors want.”, added Bland.

“We know that the date we are proposing is going to be unpopular with some as the end of the year will have a lot of events close together, but unfortunately we have been put in this position by circumstances beyond our control”, Bland concluded.

In choosing the proposed date of the 13th of November the club carefully considered other events, however, that was the only date available to NSSCC and club President Brett Middleton expects that most competitors will want the rally to go ahead.

“It’s been a difficult time for all motorsport events”, Middleton said. “We’ve already asked some of our teams what they want to do, and the vast majority have agreed we should run the event. We’ve still got 76 entries confirmed and we plan to contact each team and give them the opportunity to provide us their feedback on the proposed date”, Middleton concluded.

NSSCC will give teams and stakeholders the opportunity to provide their feedback and input. The club will provide further information in coming days.

Photo: Taylor Gill and Peter Harris at the 2020 AMH Rally of the Bay – Photo by Roy Meuronen.

Jul 17

Opportunities Galore for Molly Taylor

By Events, News, Rally, Results, Wheelspin
PHOTO: Molly Taylor and Seb Marshall in the Rally3 M-Sport Ford Fiesta – Rally Estonia – Source: Facebook

North Shore Sporting Car Club Member, Molly Taylor, has been exceptionally busy over the past few months, and with a range of different international events on her calendar. For Taylor, the second half of 2021 is packed with excitement.

Taylor last competed in Australia at the Accent Benchtops Rally of Queensland in an Orange Motorsport Subaru WRX STi. With Malcom Read in the co-drivers seat, Taylor was placed third in Heat One, overcoming issues with the rear suspension. A damaged radiator in the second heat on Sunday would see the team making urgent repairs to the car after completing the first three stages, but despite their best efforts, they were forced to retire.

It was straight to the airport following the Rally of Queensland, with Taylor heading to Senegal in West Africa. Senegal, made famous in rally circles because of its capital city, Dakar, hosted round 2 of the Extreme E Racing Series.

After a brilliant drive with Johan Kristoffersson at the first round of the Extreme E Racing, Taylor and the Rosberg X Racing (RXR) team went into the Ocean X Prix round leading the series. The RXR team were competitive from the outset, securing a place in the final and ultimately winning the event. They now lead the series with 71 points, 14 points in front of Cristina Gutiérrez and Sébastien Loeb from X44 Racing.

Taylor was thrilled with another win, saying: “It feels so good to take our second win of the season in Senegal. The semi-finals were wild because of the course here on the beach and the close racing, but we really enjoyed it, and it got us even more pumped for the last race. The Final was my first time racing wheel-to-wheel at the start of a race and getting the inside line heading into Turn 1 was really important. From there I just had to bring the car home for Johan to jump in and do what he does best for the second lap.”

“The win didn’t come easy”, Taylor continued. “And it’s been a great reminder of how competitive this series is, but that makes this victory even more special. We’ll savour the moment and look forward to the next race in Greenland.”

The next event for Taylor was the WRC Rally Estonia, driving for the M-Sport Poland team in an all new four-wheel-drive M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally3. In the leadup to the event, Taylor said she was happy to be getting the band back together, referring to re-joining with co-driver Seb Marshall for three WRC events.

“I’m really excited to have this opportunity and get back to some of my favourite WRC events in Finland, Estonia, and the Acropolis, which has always been on the bucket list. We’ve been working towards this programme for a while, so it seems like it’s been in the distance for so long. You don’t want to get too excited, because you’re always trying to put programmes together, and it’s often that nothing happens. Then it all started to come together, and it looked like it was finally happening.”

“Now it’s coming around really soon, so it’s pretty surreal. It’s exciting to be a part of the beginning of the [Rally3] category and I think, from everything that I see, it looks like a really good package, so I’m really excited to give it a go”, she continued.

“When this opportunity with the new Rally3 car came up, I think it was a combination of all the little things that just fell into the right place, and so when the opportunity arose, it was possible to jump at it. I always wanted to get back into the WRC. I feel like it’s been many years of trying to get to an opportunity like this – that I was trying for back in 2012 – but I’ll take it now!”, Taylor concluded.

But things didn’t go according to plan in Estonia, and a crash on stage 4 would see Taylor and Marshall retire with a badly damaged M-Sport Fiesta.

In a Facebook Post, Taylor announced: “Gutted to say we are out of Rally Estonia. On stage 4, I ran a little wide on a very fast section and caught a drainpipe hidden in the ditch. Doesn’t take much over here to have a big one. Certainly not the start to our program we wanted and I’m really sorry to the team and all our partners for this mistake . Seb and I are OK. Thank you for all your messages and support through both the good times and the bad.”

The other WRC events Taylor and Marshall will be seen at in addition to the Rally Estonia will be the Acropolis Rally Greece from the 9th to the 12th of September and then Rally Finland from the 1st to 3rd of October.

But there will be little time to think about what could have been in Estonia with Taylor heading straight to yet another challenge. She is entered in the Baja Aragón Rally, based out of the city of Aragon, Teruel, located in eastern Spain.  The 824km Baja style cross country rally raid event takes place on the 23rd and 24th of July and Taylor will be driving a South Racing prepared Can-Am Maverick X3.

The opportunity to drive the buggy style vehicle in Baja Aragón came about through an invite and she will be joining with rally raid and Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team Co-Driver Dennis Zenz. Taylor met Zenz while testing prior to Estonia where he had been co-driving for Fabio Schwarz, son of rally driver Armin Swartz.

There are other testing and driving opportunities in the pipeline for Taylor, but her focus will be on the remaining two WRC events, and of course the next Extreme E Series on the snow and ice surface at Arctic X Prix on the 28the to 29th of August in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland.

To keep up with all of Molly’s adventures, you can follow her Facebook Page or visit her website.

Molly Taylor and Seb Marshall – Rally Estonia – Source: Facebook

Jul 15

AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay Proceeding on 28 August

By Events, News, Rally of the Bay 2021, Spectators, Wheelspin

Photo: Bruce Moxon

The 2021 AMH Rally of the Bay organising team has officially announced that the 2021 running of the AMH Rally of the Bay will now take place on Saturday the 28th of August.
Event Manager, Nigel Bland is confident that when the current NSW lockdowns are lifted the team from North Shore Sporting Car Club (NSSCC) will be ready to run the event.

“We’ve been really lucky to have a number of volunteers based in Batemans Bay come on board to help us get things ready. Whilst we can’t get down to the Bay ourselves, our volunteers have been getting out into the forests preparing for the rally”, Bland said.

“The current COVID situation is very fluid, and we really don’t know what restrictions will be in place by the end of August, so we are moving forward with the event as planned. Should things change, we’ll make that decision closer to the event”, added Bland.

The proposed date of the 28th of August was originally slated for a Rallysprint run by Shoalhaven and Kiama Districts Auto Club (SKDAC) and was offered to NSSCC.

“We really appreciate SKDAC giving up their rallysprint date so we could re-schedule our event. In fact, we didn’t even have to ask them. They offered it up to us when it looked like the restrictions would impact the event. We really want to thank SKDAC and particularly SKDAC President Peter Ewing for the club’s generosity” Bland concluded.

The Rally of the Bay is still looking for officials and volunteers and if you would like to assist on the 28th August, simply send an email to andrew.benefield@nsscc.com.au

Jul 02

AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay postponed

By Events, News, Rally, Rally of the Bay 2021, Wheelspin

Organisers of the 2021 AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay have made the difficult decision to postpone the event and are working with relevant authorities and the NSW Rally Panel to secure August 28.

With ongoing restrictions in Sydney and beyond, North Shore Sporting Car Club (NSSCC) is not confident that travel constraints will change sufficiently to allow the event to proceed on the 17th of July.

Event Manager Nigel Bland said the decision was extremely difficult. “Even if the stay-at-home order in Sydney is lifted, there’s still a good chance people will be restricted from travelling” he said. “And whilst many of the competitors are not Sydney based, the entire organising team is.”

“That’s left us in a difficult position. Do we continue with the event and hope that everything gets opened up next weekend, or do we make the decision now to give competitors the opportunity to plan for a new date.”

“There are so many variables at play here that it’s just not worth the risk to continue with the original date.”, Bland said.

The proposed date of the 28th of August was originally slated for a Rallysprint run by Shoalhaven and Kiama Districts Auto Club (SKDAC) and was offered to NSSCC.

“We really appreciate SKDAC giving up their rallysprint date so we could re-schedule our event. In fact we didn’t even have to ask them. They offered it up to us when it looked like the restrictions would impact the event. We really want to thank SKDAC and particularly SKDAC President Peter Ewing for their generosity” Bland concluded.

The event organising team met today and were confident the date change was the right decision based on the evolving health situation.

“The other option was to cancel the event altogether”, said NSSCC President, Brett Middleton.

“But there’s so many businesses in the Eurobodalla Shire that rely on our event. Last year we estimated the rally brought $750,000 worth of economic benefit to the region and it’s important for us to support the local community”, Middleton continued.

“Three of our major partners are local to Batemans Bay including the Batemans Bay Marina Resort, the Village Centre and Bridge Plaza shopping centres and the Eurobodalla Shire. We’ve already invested in a major marketing campaign in the lead up to the event so moving the date is the best outcome for everyone.”

“We understand this now puts some pressure on competitors because there are other events that are now closer to ours, but the Rally of the Bay is such an iconic event and we know our rally teams will expect us to reschedule and go ahead with it”, Middleton said.

“With event scrutineering due to start this weekend, it’s important to make the decision before people start to get prepared. We hope our customers stick with us and that the event goes ahead in August and is a great success”, Middleton concluded.

NSSCC expect to formally announce the new date early next week.

Jun 29

Penny swaps WRX for Classic Nissan for AMH Rally of the Bay

By Events, News, Rally, Rally of the Bay 2021, Wheelspin

Regular NSW Rally Championship contenders, Andrew Penny and Rhys Llewellyn have swapped their Subaru WRX for a Classic Nissan 240RS for the AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay. The pair have intensified their commitment in 2021, taking on the NSW Championship as well as the Motorsport Australia Rally Championship (ARC).

At the Accent Benchtops Rally of Queensland ARC event in May, Penny rolled the WRX, putting them out of the event and leaving the car damaged.

“With Queensland, we had a bit of a misdemeanour in the forest with the GC8, so that’s in the process of being repaired”, Penny said.

“I saw the 240RS for sale online and it turned out that Michael Harding had it and over a work-related conversation we struck up a deal. I didn’t actually mean to buy it but decided that it would be a bit of fun. It’s super cool, and that’s why I bought it. And I’d just sold a ski boat, so I swapped a ski boat for another rally car”, Penny joked.

Penny and Llewellyn have entered the AMH Rally of the Bay to continue their bid for the NSW Rally championship, but also to get some practice in the new car before the Alpine Rally at the end of the year.

“We’re going to do the Alpine because someone said it was a fun rally to go to. But, I’ve actually never driven a rear wheel drive rally car and I figured the only way to learn was to get in and have a go. It looks like fun, but I don’t know how fast I’m going to be, but the car is allegedly very quick” Penny says.

The Nissan 240RS has some rally heritage and was built in Victoria by well-known rally driver Darren Snooks. The car has rallied in New Zealand with former Australian Rally Champion, Simon Evans behind the wheel. The car has a five-link rear end, FJ240 motor, twin 48 webers, dry sump, electric steering with a ratio reducer and was built to a high specification.

The Alpine Rally is a road book event, but Penny says he is planning on using Pace Notes at the Rally of the Bay.

“Rhys asked me if we’re going to use the Road book, but I said no, we’re going all in. I want to go as fast as we can with as much knowledge as we can. And I reckon knowing what’s around the next corner is going to help me learn faster”, Penny added.

“We want to go as fast and as hard as we can, because I don’t want to drive slow. I’m too competitive”, Penny concluded.

The Nissan 240RS is also eligible for the East Coast Classic Rally Series and this will be Penny and Llewellyn’s first appearance in the classic rally series. They currently rank eight overall on the 2021 NSW Rally Championship scoreboard with 28 points. Nathan Quinn and Ray Winwood-Smith lead the series on 50 points.

The AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay is set to take place on Saturday the 17th of July in the forests surrounding Batemans Bay on the NSW south coast. The first car will be flagged away from Corrigan’s Beach Reserve in Batehaven at 8:45am.

Jun 26

Rally Proceeding as Planned – COVID Update

By Events, News, Rally, Rally of the Bay 2021, Wheelspin

The 2021 AMH Rally of the Bay organising team would like to reassure the Rally Community that North Shore Sporting Car Club (NSSCC) is proceeding as planned with the running of the Rally of the Bay and at this stage expect the event to take place on the 17th of July.

Whilst the greater Sydney area is in a NSW Government imposed Stay at Home Order, the current advice is that the lockdown will end on the 9th of July and the rally can therefore proceed. Should government regulations or conditions change, the NSSCC organising team will make further announcements closer to the event.

“We have permits, we’re COVID complaint, our submissions are approved and everything’s in place”, said Event Manager and NSSCC Vice President, Nigel Bland. “It’s important that we focus on getting on with running the event and making sure that everything is ready for the 17th of July. We’ve put so much effort into preparing for the rally, and we know that teams are going to love the new format and roads that we’re using”, Bland added.

“Additional planning is underway to allow us to easily change things if we need to to meet government controls. We ran the Service Park with pretty stringent controls in place last year, so if we need to do that all again, we’ll be ready” Bland concluded.

NSSCC President Brett Middleton said there was more than just the rally to consider. “The Eurobodalla Shire has invested significantly in our event”, Middleton said. “We have many partners locally and across the motorsport community that have also invested in the Rally. The Batemans Bay business community also needs our support, especially after the fires, and last year’s COVID lockdowns.”

“The Rally of the Bay always has a significant impact on the local economy and last year we know there was a huge economic boost to Batemans Bay and surrounds because of our event, and we want to repeat that again this year”, Middleton concluded.

The Rally of the Bay is still looking for officials and volunteers and if you would like to assist on the 17th of July, simply send an email to andrew.benefield@nsscc.com.au

Competitors with any concerns can call the event manager on 0411 644 193 or send an email to media@nsscc.com.au

Jun 23

Shopping Centres continue support of AMH Rally of the Bay

By Events, News, Rally, Rally of the Bay 2021, Wheelspin

The Village Centre and Bridge Plaza has renewed their support of the North Shore Sporting Car Clubs, AMH Rally of the Bay. The Village Centre and Bridge Plaza shopping centres came on board as a major partner in 2020 and continue that partnership for 2021.

In announcing the renewed partnership, North Shore Sporting Car Club (NSSCC) President Brett Middleton said “We’re glad to have the Village Centre and Bridge Plaza back on board as one of our major partners this year. They are a great supporter of our event, and they provide the best place to shop for the vast majority of the rally teams that attend and compete in the event.”

“It was really great to welcome the Village Centre and Bridge Plaza shopping centres as a new major partner last year, and even better to be able to continue our relationship in 2021. The two shopping centres are an essential part of the rally. Most teams will shop locally for their supplies, rather than bring it with them, so having this relationship continue this year is just more good news for the rally, for Batemans Bay and for jobs in the local community”, Middleton added.

The rally of the Bay Event Manager, Nigel Bland expects up to 90 rally teams to descend on the Batemans Bay township on the weekend of the 17th of July.

“It’s fantastic to have local businesses on-board,” said Bland. “As a rally community we want to give back to the local community and that’s why we are encouraging all of our teams to shop local and get their supplies from the Village Centre and Bridge Plaza. We know our event will bring a much-needed boost to the local Batemans Bay economy and we’ll be encouraging them to spend locally as much as possible”.

“This will be the second Rally in the NSW championship and it’s also a promotional round of the Motorsport Australia Rally Championship”, Bland said. “So, we’re expecting a bigger turnout than a normal NSW round as the rally is now a great test run for teams looking to participate in the Australian Rally Championship when it resumes later in the year. And whilst our event is only a promotional ARC round, we’ve already had plenty of interest from the top level of the sport, with many national teams already entered”, Bland concluded.

The AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay is set to take place on Saturday the 17th of July in the forests surrounding Batemans Bay on the NSW south coast. The first car will be flagged away from Corrigan’s Beach Reserve in Batehaven at 8:45am. The Rally forms part of the MTA NSW Rally Championship, East Coast Classic Rally Series, NSW Clubman Rally Series, Hyundai Rally Series, and ACT Regional Rally Series. Almost 80 entries have been received, with 3 weeks remaining before entries close.

About the Village Centre and Bridge Plaza shopping Centres
The Village Centre and Bridge Plaza shopping centres in Batemans Bay feature Coles, Kmart, Woolworths and Aldi plus over 50 great specialty stores. The shopping centres feature wonderful fashion, delicious food and an upbeat atmosphere delightfully located in the heart of beautiful Batemans Bay. Undercover parking and easy access from the Princes Highway make shopping a breeze.

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