Rally action will resume in the sunshine state this weekend, with 22 entrants confirmed for the Yump into Byfield Rally. 

Byfield, located just north of Yeppoon, will host the Central Qld Motor Sporting Club event on 11 July, with organisers having worked hard to ensure a safe and competitor friendly event could be staged in the current circumstances.

The event, which will serve as a warm up for the return of the Motorsport Australia Queensland Rally Championship, will also be round one of the 2020 Queensland Novice Rally Series.

Ten stages will make up the one day event, with eight during the day and two at night to test competitors’ skills.

Clerk of Course Clay Weston said the organising team had worked closely with Motorsport Australia and followed their Return To Race strategy, to ensure the event also ran in accordance with the current Queensland Government restrictions.

“We want everyone to go out and have some fun in the forest,” Weston said.

“The rally will be a simple low-key multi-club event, we’ve got 120km of competitive stages including a couple at night.”

Queensland Rally Panel Chair Gerard McConkey said six entrants would compete in the Novice Series component of the event, which would help give up-and-coming rally teams a chance to sharpen their skills before entering larger events.

“It’s a developmental series introduced to encourage new competitors and provide them with suitable events to build their confidence and experience prior to progression to the Queensland Clubman Rally Series and later to the Queensland Rally Championship,” McConkey said.

Pleasingly, there is an equal mix of genders amongst the six novice drivers entered, with the rally itself attracting a field of 22 cars in total. Some of the crews are new combinations or debuting new machinery, using the rally as an opportunity to prepare for the upcoming State Championship.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, spectators will unfortunately not be able to attend, however the Central Qld Motor Sporting Club is still welcoming any volunteers who may want to assist at the event.

More information about the event can be found here.

Other rounds of the 2020 Queensland Novice Series include:

• 1 August - KCF Rallysport Short Course Rally – Benarkin
• 19 September - Hinterland Rally – Imbil
• 31 October – Roo Systems Manumbar Rally – Manumbar

The Yump Into Byfield Rally will be held on Saturday, 11 July.