When the Ararat Car Club opens the gates to its Westmere Khanacross this weekend, there will be a lot of relieved organisers and happy faces in attendance.
There may only be 20 people involved in the rural Victoria event, 18 of which will be competing, but it’s still a major milestone for the club since it last ran an event three months ago.
Like most, the club has anxiously been waiting on the green light to begin organising events again, but have had to be patient as the world tries to deal with the unknown global pandemic.
However, when restrictions began to lift, so did the spirits of all those in the sport and the club Vice President, Chris Harwood believes Motorsport Australia’s Return to Race document was instrumental in helping them back into action.
“Trying to put to this event together, we were working in line Motorsport Australia’s Return to Race guidelines and to be honest, it is an amazing document,” Harwood said.
“In the situation that we are all in, to have something that we can actually work off makes it so much easier to get things going again.
“It’s been hard for everybody as it is, but to have this document where we can look to and make sure we comply with rulings, as well as get guidance for when we need, is just fantastic.
“The whole COVID-19 process we have felt a little bit in the dark, but in saying that, everyone has been in the dark. It’s something where everyone doesn’t really know what to do. There is no rule book here.
“But at every opportunity, the government and Motorsport Australia have been able to keep the general public as informed a possible. It’s really hard but I feel like Motorsport Australia has done a really good job with communication.
“The people who put Return to Race document together must be thanked because quite simply, it makes everyone else’s job easier in getting events back up and I really recommended it.”
Harwood and the rest of the organising committee for the khanacross have put in a number of a measures in place in order to keep their members safe and stay in line with the guidelines.
Starting with a separate entry and exit point, the club has also put hand sanitisers around the venue, so everyone is covered, as well implemented as contactless entry, sign in and self-scrutineering, which is all done electronically.
And while, the club is just about ready to return, they are hoping for a successful outing – especially as it will set the tone for their events in the coming months.
“There are a whole heap of things that we are doing and we are using the Return to Race document as our bible,” Harwood added.
“Hopefully it all goes well this weekend. It’s a bit of a toe in the water sort of thing. Just to see how it goes and make sure we have everything right and we’re not breaking any rules.
“We just want to ease into it and make sure we have everything covered. If there is something not quite right, then we can fix that quite quickly.
“Everyone is really aware of the environment that we’re in and they’re understanding that these are things we need to do to comply. We need to make sure that we do all the things and abide by the rules.
“You don’t realise how much you miss racing until you can’t do it, so we’re excited to be back.”
The Ararat Car Club’s Westmere Khanacross is taking place at Westmere Rec Reserve on Sunday 14 June.