For the first time since forming in 2016, the Raleigh Motorsports Association gets the chance to host a state championship event this weekend with the Motorsport Australia NSW Rallycross State Championship. 
  
Taking place at the club's home location of Raleigh Raceway, 25 competitors will battle it out over two busy days of action with heats, semi finals and a final all part of the schedule.  
  
In what is the first rallysprint state championship event for the club, competitors will get up to four heats of four laps on Saturday, giving them lots of time behind the wheel and opportunities to progress to Sunday’s semi-final. 

With 50 points on offer for each heat win, drivers can be part of the 16 who make it to Sunday by gaining as many points as they can during the heats, which is determined by the fastest times.  
  
On Sunday, a further four heats will be run for the 16 drivers good enough to have made it through, setting up the cut-throat four-car finale. 
  
Three classes are available to the competitors with the front-wheel-drive, rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive classes each having a driver or two likely to be challenging for the outright victory. 
  
While there are 25 competitors competing in the state championship, there are five standouts whom organisers tip will make it to the pointy end. 
  
Luke Pell, Dave Carlton, Lee Falkner, and Troy Haworch are all experienced campaigners in rallysprints and will be fighting it for the title, while prominent state hill climber David Morrow is also one who is likely to cause an upset.  
  
Ahead of the Raleigh Motorsports Association’s first time running the state championship rallysprint, club secretary Helen Haworth was excited for the weekend. 
  
“I think a lot of the competitors are looking forward to this weekend and we are too,” Haworth said.  
  
“Some of them don’t think they are up to state championship level, but they're doing it because they have the opportunity and they love it.  
  
“What makes this weekend exciting is that because the weather is predicted to be quite wet, anyone can win. The conditions will play a major role throughout the two days.  
  
“We also have the joker section of the track and it’s a risk that could play a huge part in whether these people win or lose their heats, so from a competition point of view, I think it’s going to be very exciting. 
  
“From a club point of view, we’re really looking forward to the weekend. It’s our first state championship and we’re hopeful of doing many more in the future.  
  
“Even though we lost a few numbers, we will still think 25 entries is good and it’s something to build on for next time.” 
  
The Motorsport Australia NSW Rallycross State Championship takes place at Raleigh Raceway on 20-21 November.