The BFGoodrich Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship (AORC) will have a five-round calendar in 2023.

The calendar for next year will consist of outings in Queensland, New South Wales, Northern Territory, South Australia, and Western Australia, one less than in 2022.

A notable change to the calendar for next year is the omission of the Hindmarsh Shire Rainbow Desert Enduro, which served as the fifth and penultimate round of this year’s season.

The event was called off after the deaths of AORC competitors Gerry Hoekstra and Ede Taric.

“Obviously it’s disappointing to have lost the Rainbow Desert Enduro for the 2023 season, however it is completely understandable as to why the Victorian Off Road Racing Association chose to withdraw and we support its decision and hope to see them again soon,” Motorsport Australia Managing Director of Motorsport and Commercial Michael Smith said.

The 2023 season will commence in March with the Gold City 450 in Charters Towers, Queensland, before venturing south to New South Wales for the Pooncarie Desert Dash.

Round 3 of the season is the iconic Finke Desert Race in Alice Springs, Northern Territory in June, with the penultimate round of the season the Loveday 400, to take place in South Australia at the end of July.

The season will wrap up with the Kalgoorlie Desert Race in Western Australia in October.

Smith is pleased with the 2023 calendar.

“We are extremely happy as to how the calendar turned out with five rounds, as it covers five different states and territories,” he said.

“Having Loveday, Pooncarie and Kalgoorlie receive such positive feedback following their first year on the calendar was a major boost for the AORC and I am sure crews are keen to get back out there and have another crack at these event now that they are familiar with them.

“The success of each new event should give crews the confidence that Charters Towers will be able to achieve a similar outcome and provide an event that will meet the high standards of the rest of the championship.

“We’re also pleased that there is a good amount of rest between each event, giving crews plenty of time to recover between each round and I am hopeful that this will allow for more crews to attend each round.”

2023 AORC Calendar
Round 1: Gold City 450 – Charters Towers, Queensland – March 10-12
Round 2: Pooncarie Desert Dash – Pooncarie, New South Wales- April 21-23
Round 3: Finke Desert Race – Alice Springs, Northern Territory – June 10 – 12
Round 4: Loveday 400 – Loveday, South Australia – July 28-30
Round 5: Kalgoorlie Desert Race – Kalgoorlie, Western Australia – October 19-22