Competitors at this weekend’s St George 399 in southern Queensland will be treated to a new course and a revised location, organisers have confirmed.

The BFGoodrich Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship (AORC) returns to popular venue for the first time since 2022, and Luke McNicol, St George 399 Clerk of the Course confirms that the new location will extend the appeal of the event in more ways than one.

“The track that we’re going to have this year is different to previous years and it’s in a different part of St George,” McNicol explained.

“Where we used to race was 5km out of St George, this year we’re about 20km out of St George – down on the Whyenbah Road and out along the river country. It’s a bit different and it will be pretty good.

“The property that we used to race on has evolved, and the land owners have cultivated it and turned it into cattle grazing and crops. So that property wasn’t suitable to get the distance that we wanted out of the track.”

This year’s St George 399 track action will be split across Saturday and Sunday. First up, traditional Prologue on Saturday morning will dictate the running order for the afternoon’s two-lap Section One. Then on Sunday will follow two additional sections – one of two laps in the morning followed by a one-lap dash in the afternoon.

The new location of the St George 399 has another added bonus, with competitors allowed to camp out on the course for 2025.

With showers forecast in the coming days, organisers are hopeful that dust on the track will be limited for the event.

And while St George has typically favoured Pro Buggy entries in its most recent running in 2022 – with those machines locking out the podium – McNicol said the design of the course for 2025 had kept every entry in mind.

“As a driver, the course has been designed so that it doesn’t favour anyone in particular,” McNicol explained.

“There’s good stuff for the trucks and buggies, there’s good stuff for the SXS machines. There’s good variety out there for everyone racing; some hard-packed ground, some sandy sections – no matter what you like there’s something there.

“Hopefully with the timing this year as well, we’re hoping to be able to supply competitors with halfway timing beam, so that you’re not waiting for competitors to finish their full lap to know where they’re sitting in relation to others.

“With the live timing, people will be able to see where rivals are going halfway through the lap and at the completion of each lap. That will be something a bit different too.”

Perched on the banks of the Balonne River in Queensland, about a four-hour drive west of Toowoomba, St George is a vital central hub for surrounding towns. The 399 event is considered an important driver of tourism and a big-ticket item for the local economy.

McNicol said the community was thrilled to have the event back on the AORC calendar.

“From the couple of years that we didn’t have the national, the St George community have been quite vocal about trying to get the 399 back,” McNicol said.

“That’s something we’ve really tried to push for on their behalf, and we’ve wanted to include the community along the way. The club itself tries to get a lot of supplies from the township itself too. It’s a pretty big drawcard for the town’s people, it’s great for tourism and it’s something out of the ordinary. We love to get the town behind it.”