After plenty of uncertainty surrounding Victoria's state-wide lockdown, the Motorsport Australia Victorian Khanacross Championship will go ahead this weekend.
Hosted by the Bendigo Car Club, the fifth round of the 2021 season will see up to 50 competitors from around the state do battle on the club’s home-grown gravel course.
Twelve tests have been scheduled for competitors, however the weather will undoubtedly have a final say as to how many actually take place on day with rain forecasted for both Saturday and Sunday.
Ahead of this week, there was plenty of uncertainty around whether the event would happen, however the easing of restrictions on Tuesday allowed the club to go ahead with its plans.
Now, just days out from the round, the club is adjusting its COVID plan to make sure it stays in line with the current Government requirements, as well as Motorsport Australia’s Return to Race document.
Club President Craig Button was looking forward to running the event this weekend but admitted it almost didn’t happen.
“It’s just great that we get to run the round and we can’t wait to get out there and give our members and the state competitors a chance to compete again,” Button said.
“We had prepared the permit two months ago and opened up entries at the start of this month. When lockdown happened, we decided that we would continue as planned and still accepted entries.
“We got a bit nervy when the restrictions were extended, however when the announcement was made on Tuesday, it was a massive relief and we knew we could go ahead.
“The absolute last deadline for us to make a call was Wednesday, so we’re grateful that the decision was made on Tuesday and now a lot of people are excited to come out.”
While the club will be hosting the state championship, it will also be running a round of its own club series.
A number of club representatives are entered into both competitions with WRX drivers Brad Hall and Jeff Salmon the two likely to challenge for outright state honours.
With the club expecting a few more late inclusions ahead of Sunday’s round, Button was hopeful a successful event and was
“We’ve obviously had to adjust our reggs so that no spectators can come, but it should still be a great day – provided it doesn’t rain too much on Saturday," Button added.
“The championship itself is fairly strong. It’s around eight rounds long and a lot of the competitors follow it around the state, which will be exciting for when they come here.
“It was also extremely important that we ran the event as it’s also part of our club series and gives our members as many opportunities as they can to do motorsport.
“At the end of the day, we’re just glad we’re running it, as well as being given the opportunity to be able to run a state round.”