The roar of competitive rally cars in the Tasmanian forests will be heard for the first time this year on Saturday, with the opening round of the Tasmanian Rally Championship, the Hellyer Sprint.
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The first of a shortened two round series will start at 10.30am Saturday and will be run mainly in the Rocky Cape and Mawbanna areas.
Former Tasmanian champion Eddie Maguire, of Elliott, and navigator Zak Brakey, have been seeded as the likely favourites in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9, while their biggest danger is likely to be fellow North-West crew Craig Brooks and Jason White in their Orange Motorsport Subaru Impreza WRX Sti.
ELSEWHERE IN SPORT
Brooks, a two-time Tasmanian champion in his own right, will thrive off the experience of Targa Tasmania legend White, who put together the weekend's car.
Fellow former Tasmanian rally champions Bodie Reading and Mark Young, from Hobart, are also expected to put in a strong showing, as they start their road to redemption in their rapid Subaru Impreza WRX Sti.
Burnie father and daughter crew Jamie and Charlotte Vandenberg are also expected to be among the front runners in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9.
Further down the field, Hobart's Aiden Peterson will start favourites in the two-wheel-drive battle, upgrading from last year's Daihatsu Charade to a Nissan Pulsar GTi, in which his father Lee Peterson won multiple 2WD Tasmanian championships.
Alongside the state title round, the popular one-make TRS Challenge series opener will see former state champion Marcus Walkem, from Launceston, and reigning state champion Tim Auty, of Devonport, as the main contenders, while Launceston's Ben Newman will keep them honest.
Saturday will also see the inaugural running of a "regularity rally" class, featuring mainly novice crews in standard cars and minimal costs and modifications, to get a taste of rallying.
Competitors are restricted to maximum speeds and low average speeds for each stage.
A spectator guide is available from www.nwcctas.net.au, with spectators needing to adhere to COVID-19 protocols, which include social distancing and registration of names and details for potential tracing.
The second and final round of the Tasmanian Rally Championship, the mountain stages rally, will be held in the North-East, near Mathinna, on October 3.