The 2026 EROAD Australian Rally Championship (ARC) gets underway this weekend, six months on from a fantastic finish to the 2025 campaign.
The Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland kick-starts the season for the first time in the event’s history taking place over 17-19 April in the heart of Gympie.
Crews will tackle the popular Queensland event with a mix of forest stages and fan-friendly action in the heart of town.
A total of 22 crews will contest the opening round, which will be headlined by a blockbuster manufacturer battle between the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2s of Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia and the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2s of Pedders Rally Team, supported by Famous Insurance.
Leading the charge for Toyota in the all-new GR Yaris Rally2 machinery is three-time champion Harry Bates alongside co-driver Coral Taylor, while 2022 champions Lewis Bates and Anthony McLoughlin make it a formidable two-car outfit.
Pedders Rally Team counters with a strong Skoda Fabia Rally2 pairing, spearheaded by 2014 champion Scott Pedder and Glenn Macneall, while rising star Jackson Long steps up to outright competition alongside Damian Long following an impressive rookie campaign.
The talent for the opening round runs deep down the entry list with the likes of Toby Price headlining the Subaru WRX Challenge, both Josh Redhead and the returning Josh Wiedman in the WOLF Cup, and Darren Crozier, Wayne Stewart, Troy Dowel and Shane Garner among the other notable names.
Making up the official action will be more than 176 competitive kilometres across 15 stages.
Saturday’s eight stages will consist of 94km and Sunday’s seven stages will include 82km.
Saturday will have a later start than usual, with the first set of cars due on the opening stage at 9:53am AEST, while some of the day’s highlights include the event’s maiden Campbell’s Super Special Stage to take place in the heart of Gympie twice and the debut of a Saturday Power Stage to run in the afternoon.
It will feature again on Sunday morning, alongside the remaining six stages, as action gets underway from 8:36am AEST and wraps up with the Power Stage at 2:04pm AEST, before the podium is held at 4:30pm.
Unlike previous years, the Galvaniize Insurance Rally Central will now be in the middle of Gympie, allowing fans to have multiple opportunities to see the cars up close and personal.
Fans will be able to follow all the action from Rally Queensland across a range of platforms throughout the weekend.
The ARC’s landmark broadcast deal with FOX SPORTS Australia and Kayo SPORTS begins this weekend, with live coverage of SS6 and SS16 available on both platforms.
In addition to the exciting new streams, both the ARC and Speedcafe’s official Facebook and YouTube channels will stream both stages, along with SS1, SS9 and SS12.
Fans will also be able to follow along with live results on the Subaru Results Hub and plenty of updates and interviews via the ARC’s Facebook and Instagram channels, as well as on rally.com.au.
With a compact format, strong entry list and a historic season-opening status, the 2026 Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland is set to deliver an exciting and action-packed start to the ARC season.
