From 2023, competitors in select classes of the BFGoodrich Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship (AORC) will be able to increase their engine capacity to 7 Litres.

For the 2022 season, crews in the Pro Buggy, Performance 2WD, Extreme 2WD, Production 4WD and Extreme 4WD classes will continue to be limited to the existing recognised engine capacity limits, however this will change from 1 January, 2023 with the introduction of a new capacity limit of 7 litres for naturally aspirated petrol engines.

With the change coming after consultation with the Australian Off Road Commission (AORCOM), the AORC won’t be the only competition to implement the increase, with 7 Litre engine capacities to be allowed at all off road racing events nation-wide.

Motorsport Australia Director of Motorsport & Commercial Operations Michael Smith believed the move would have great benefits for the AORC and off road racing around the country.

“We understood that there was a desire for the AORC to introduce more powerful cars and we’re pleased to be able to increase the engine capacity on some of these classes, which should certainly do that,” Smith said.

“After multiple discussions with a variety of different stakeholders, the AORCOM consensus was that the step to 7 litre would have plenty of benefits and could attract more people whose cars now meet the requirements.

“We are getting the news out there now so people can begin to plan accordingly and start working towards building these 7 Litre engines if they want.

“It’s an exciting time for our sport at the moment and changes like this will mean that the sport can grow and align with other championships around the world.

“While we’re really looking for to the change for next year, the focus will obviously be for 2022 and the exciting six-round season that we have coming up.”