Rainbow on track despite Loveday blow
Tuesday 13 July, 2021
Photo: Show N Go Photography
The Victorian Off Road Racing Association (VORRA) remains confident the Hindmarsh Shire Rainbow Desert Enduro 560 will continue as planned despite the uncertainty of Australia’s current COVID-19 situation.
As a result of the New South Wales outbreak and the border restrictions in place, the Can-Am Loveday 400 was postponed to September.
The change of date now makes VORRA’s event in August the third round of the BFGoodrich Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship (AORC).
With preparations for the event already underway, the club’s President Tony Carabott was looking forward to hosting the next round of the Championship.
“It’s a real shame that Loveday had to be postponed but full credit must go out to Tony Whateley and his team for making the tough decision – it's one that should have a positive effect for the Championship,” Carabott said.
“The current situation in Australia makes it a little difficult to fully commit to plans and ideas as there is always a cloud surrounding these national events and whether they will go ahead.
“With that said, we’re very keen to get Rainbow up and running and we don’t see any reason to cancel or postpone for the moment as we’re hopeful things should settle over the next month.
“Preparation for the event is progressing as normal and we’re excited with how it will look this year, as well as some of the changes that have been made.
“Of course, it’s difficult to say whether we will one hundred per cent be going ahead, but we’ll be keeping an eye on the revolving situation and hope that it clears up.
“Until then, we will open entries soon and can’t wait to welcome the AORC to Rainbow back for the first time since 2019.”
It’s been a difficult few years for the Victorian event, with the 2020 edition cancelled due to COVID-19 and 2019’s running shortened due to severe rain making the course unsafe to race on.
Although the 2019 event did eventually run, albeit at a reduced capacity, it was Greg Gartner who took out top honours, while Mark Burrows secured the national title alongside son Matt Burrows.
The Hindmarsh Shire Rainbow Desert Enduro 560 takes place in the West Victorian rural town of Rainbow on 27-29 August.