Expected to take place in perfect weather conditions, the ARC component will run in two heats with championship points awarded on both Saturday and Sunday. The event will be contested over 104kms over six stages on Day 1, and 76kms on Day 2’s five stages.
Regular rally crews will be familiar with the schedule and stages from previous events including the Nannup roads. The biggest change will be the introduction of the Lewana Stage, which hasn’t been used for 15 years.
Many of the participants at the season opener in the nation’s capital last month, have made the trek to West Australia for the weekend.
Harry Bates and Coral Taylor lead the championship after a perfect winning stage score in the shortened Rally of Canberra. Their Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia teammates Lewis Bates and Anthony McLoughlin are second with Bates fresh from a FIA World Rally Championship debut in Portugal.
“It’s nice to be back in Australia and we are mostly over our jet lag. I am just happy to be in WA as it’s one of my favourite events and the weather is looking fantastic,” Lewis said after taking part in the Forest Rally test sessions.
“It was a bit of a surprise coming back to these loose ball bearing roads of WA, as it’s very different from Portugal, but fortunately we got into a rhythm quite quickly and I am comfortable with the conditions.”
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Outside of the two Toyota entries, challengers for some outright results include Scott Pedder/Glenn Macneall, local Alex Rullo and Steve Glenney, Eddie Maguire/Zak Brakey and brothers Jamie and Brad Luff.
The 2024 Forest Rally takes place in and around the forests of Nannup, near Busselton with the service park at the Nannup Recreation & Community Centre. Spectator points during the event include Busselton Jetty Foreshore for Ceremonial Start on Friday evening, and two different points on both competition days.
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