Competitors in select classes of the BFGoodrich Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship (AORC) will be able to increase their engine capacity to seven litres next year.

For the 2022 season, crews in the Pro Buggy, Performance 2WD, Extreme 2WD, Production 4WD and Extreme 4WD classes will continue to be limited to the existing recognised engine capacity limits.

However, from January 1, 2023, a new capacity limit of seven litres for naturally-aspirated petrol engines will apply.

The change comes after consultation with the Australian Off Road Commission (AORCOM) and the AORC will thus not be the only competition to implement the increase, with seven-litre engine capacities to be allowed at all offroad racing events nationwide.

Motorsport Australia director of motorsport and commercial operations Michael Smith believed the move would have great benefits for the AORC and offroad racing around the country.

“We understood that there was a desire for the AORC to introduce more powerful cars and we’re pleased to be able to increase the engine capacity on some of these classes, which should certainly do that,” said Smith.

“After multiple discussions with a variety of different stakeholders, the AORCOM consensus was that the step to seven-litre would have plenty of benefits and could attract more people whose cars now meet the requirements.

“We are getting the news out there now so people can begin to plan accordingly and start working towards building these seven-litre engines if they want.

“It’s an exciting time for our sport at the moment and changes like this will mean that the sport can grow and align with other championships around the world.

“While we’re really looking for to the change for next year, the focus will obviously be for 2022 and the exciting six-round season that we have coming up.”

Round 1 of the 2022 BFGoodrich Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship, the Cobb & Co Hotel St George 399, will be held on March 18-20.