The North West Car Club is set to host its annual Hellyer Sprint Rally this weekend, with 14 crews to battle it out in the one-day event. 
  
Set within the picturesque forests of the Rocky Cape in Tasmania’s north west region, the 14 crews will tackle 70 competitive kilometres spread over eight stages. 
  
Originally meant to be part of the Dunlop Motorsport Australia Tasmanian Rally Championship, the event now serves as a standalone rally with competitors running Dunlop tyres able to score points for the Dunlop Rally Cup.  
  
Headlining the entry list is 2020 Dunlop Motorsport Australia Tasmanian Rally Champion Eddie Maguire, while his brother Steven and RSEA Safety Motorsport Australia Rally Championship driver (ARC) Marcus Walkem will be his biggest challengers.  
  
Other notable entries include ARC young gun Aidan Peterson, former Baskerville 1000 winner and rallysprint regular Rick Burt in his Falcon Ute, Tasmanian all-rounder Leigh Ford and regular top five placer Brian Murfet.  
  
As a result of the state championship being cancelled, the club opted to proceed with the event despite the low numbers due to the club’s desire to keep the discipline running in Tasmania. 
  
“It’s shaping up to be a good event and we can’t be any more organised than we currently are,” Clerk of Course Stephen Peters said. 
  
“Unfortunately, we lost our state championship due to COVID and not having enough events to make up a season, but we felt it was important to run this event to help keep the sport alive.  
  
“It’s always difficult to get crews to an event when there is nothing on the line, but we’re a strong rallying club and we have a good club series, so this weekend is just to keep things ticking along and blood some new drivers.  
  
“I guess it’s a little disappointing to have little numbers, but we still have some big names attending. From both Maguire brothers to Marcus Walkem in that Hyundai R5 – it should be quite the spectacle. 
  
“The forestry roads are also just beautiful and crews should really enjoy the short and sharp stages – especially since there is a good variety. 
  
“The Mathers West is the longest stage and has many crests, so there is a mix and then Daisy’s Loop offers everything and is really loved by crews.” 
  
The event gets underway on Saturday morning with the first car to leave stage one at 11:30am AEDT. Cars will run the first pass of four stages before completing a service break and then repeating each stage.  
  
There will be one spectator point available for fans, which is Daisy’s Loop and are stages three and five with the first pass from 12:50pm AEDT and the second pass from 2:40pm.  

Click here for spectator information. 
  
The 2021 Hellyer Sprint Rally takes place in the Rocky Cape region on Saturday 23 October.