WHO WILL BE CROWNED AUSTRALIA’S BEST CAR FORUM?
Dear Forum Members,
It is my great pleasure to provide some pre-information for the upcoming “ARC Forum Battle” to take place as part of the 2012 Rally Calder.
ARC Forum Battle
Like Rally Calder, the ARC Forum Battle is a completely unique event designed to reward Australia’s best car club over 6 x motorsport and non-motorsport point scoring facets. The car club forum community has grown in strength and numbers in a very short space of time in Australia and has provided “intra-club” motorsport events such as nationals etc but Rally Calder and the ARC Forum Battle represents the first event where car forums will compete head to head on a large scale.
An enormous amount of work is going on behind the scenes to bring this monster of an event together including technical and sporting regulations which will be available as soon as possible. In the mean time please find below some information pertaining to the ARC Forum Battle
ARC Forum Battle General
1. Points to be awarded per discipline (x 6 disciplines) on a sliding scale of results (for example, 20…16..14..12 etc) for the club
2. Technical Regulations will follow CAMS regs for relevant disciplines with specifics to be advised in actual regs but will be designed to encourage road going, road registered, high performance vehicles to compete in a competitive yet safe and fair environment.
3. Due to the expected number of car forums that will compete a limited number of entries will be sought for each discipline as below – the car forum will need to meet this maximum number by putting forward their chosen representatives within each forum
4. The driver must be a forum member and must be the owner of the vehicle to be used
The Disciplines
1. Club Support : This is a non-motorsport discipline. Each car forum will be provided a unique ticket code for the event and points will be awarded to forums based on the ticket sales per forum and thus the support of the event, each forum and the ARC Forum Battle by the forum members.
2. Time Attack : Currently scheduled for 10:20am-12pm on Saturday March 3rd. This event will consist of 2 cars and drivers from each forum. Each driver will have 2 sessions to post their best time over the 1.6 kilometre Calder Park National Circuit Short Course (see attached map). There will be up to 8 cars on the track at once. This course and discipline is subject to cancellation if the track is wet due to the VHT used for drag competitions on the main straight. Regulations are pending. Entry costs are $200 per entry and include a 3-day general admission pass to the event and will be lodged with the event secretary as per the event regulations when released.
3. Rally Stage/One-Lap Dash : Currently scheduled for 1:35 – 2:25 and 5:00-5:45 on Saturday March 3rd. This event will consist of 2 cars and drivers from each forum. Each driver will get 4 runs over the 2km course using the Calder Park National Circuit Long Course (see attached map), the best time for each driver will be used to determine overall ARC Forum Battle points. Cars will be flagged away (rallystyle!) at 30 second intervals using timing beams at start and finish. Regulations are pending. Entry costs are $150 per entry and include a 3-day general admission pass to the event and will be lodged with the event secretary as per the event regulations when released.
4. Gymkhana : Currently scheduled for 3:45-4:45 on Saturday March 3rd. This event consists of 2 cars and drivers from each forum. Each driver will get 2 runs over the 750 metre highly technical slalom gymkahana course utilising pit lanes in the middle of the thunderdome. This is the most used section of calder park raceway for Rally Calder and will be highly visible to the public (see attached map). Cars will be flagged away (rallystyle!) at 30 second intervals using timing beams at start and finish. Regulations are pending. Entry costs are $150 per entry and include a 3-day general admission pass to the event and will be lodged with the event secretary as per the event regulations when released.
5. Drag/Quarter Mile Sprint : Currently scheduled for 7pm till late on Saturday March 3rd. The event will consist of 4 cars and drivers from each forum. Each driver will get a minimum of 2 runs over the strip. Entry costs are $150 per entry and include a 3-day general admission pass to the event and will be lodged with the event secretary as per the event regulations when released.
6. Show n Shine : Scheduled for Sunday 4th March. 20 cars per forum with each forum given an area within the Rally Calder Service Park precinct to “make their own”. 20 cars per Car Forum. A panel of judges will award points to the best presented individual cars and car forum as a whole – so get those creative juices flowing in terms of your areas! Entry costs are $90 per entry (only $40 if an existing ARC Forum Battle competitor) and include a 3-day general admission pass to the event and will be lodged probably through Foxtix due to the number of expected entries.
Prizes
The prize presentation for best individual performance within each discipline as well as the overall ARC Forum Battle Champion Forum will be announced as part of a special podium presentation at the event (and before the Rally finals) currently scheduled for approximately 12:30. The individual discipline winners and a representative driver and vehicle from the winning club will get to do a parade lap and be part of the grid with the finalists in the Bosch ARC, CAMS Tarmac Rally and Side x Side Events.
Promotion
The ARC Forum Battle will take pride of place amongst other facets within Rally Calder promotional mediums including television commercials etc and will be covered within the live internet and Rally Calder radio. A minimum of 12-minutes of national television airtime (3 minutes on Ten and 9 minutes on ONE) will be dedicated to the highlights of each discipline.
2012 ARC Forum Battle Schedule of Activities as at 22nd November 2011
Friday March 2nd
3:30-4pm : National Circuit (Time Attack and Rally/One Lap Dash) Familiarisation, Calder Park Raceway
7pm-9pm : Official Forum Welcome Function (all forum members welcome), West Waters Hotel, Caroline Springs. Finger Food dinner provided @ cost of approx. $30 with cash bar available. Welcome from Scott Pedder (CEO of Bosch ARC and Rally Calder Event Director) plus other special guests.
9pm – 11pm : Documentation and Vehicle Scrutiny, West Waters Hotel, Caroline Springs
Saturday March 3rd
7:30-7:45 : Gymkhana Familiarisation, Thunderdome Calder Park Raceway
10:20-12pm : Time Attack
1:30-2:25 : Rally Stage/One Lap Dash 1&2
3:45-4:45 : Gymkhana
5:00-5:45 : Rally Stage/One Lap Dash 3&4
7:00-9:00 : Drag
Sunday March 4th
6:00-7:30 : Show N Shine Setup
7:30-12:00 : Show N Shine Competition
12:20-12:35 : ARC Forum Battle Presentations
12:35-1:05 : Parade, Grid, National Anthem
1:05-5pm : Show N Shine Continues
5pm : Gates close for public, Show N Shine vehicles can depart venue
7pm-Late : ARC Forum Battle Unofficial After Party, Sports Bar, West Waters Hotel, Caroline Springs.
Rally Calder
The ARC Forum Battle is part of 2012 Rally Calder, the first event of its kind that combines the following motorsport disciplines into one event;
-Round One of the 2012 BOSCH Australian Rally Championship (Gravel and Tarmac) includes;
o BOSCH Australian 4WD Rally Championship
o BOSCH Australian 2WD Rally Championship
o Australian Classic Rally Championship
o East Coast Bull Bars Australian SUV Rally Challenge
o Rallyschool.com.au Australian Junior Rally Challenge
-Round One of the 2012 CAMS Australian Tarmac Rally Championship
-Round One of the 2012 Australian Side by Side Rally Challenge (Polaris and CanAm 2-seater ATV Buggies)
-ARC Forum Battle
o Time Attack
o Rally Stage (one-lap dash)
o Gymkhana
o Drag
o Show n Shine
-Drift Demonstration
-Rallyschool.com.au Rally Hot Laps
Rally Calder is being branded as “Melbourne’s Festival of Speed” and will be promoted through an extensive PR and Media plan including;
- 15 and 30-second television commercial to air in Melbourne on Network Ten and ONE in January/February
- Delayed 2-hour national coverage of the event (all facets) on Ten/ONE weekend
- Online via foxtix (event ticketing agency) associated sites, car forums and other general mediums
- Normal PR/Press/Media including Twitter and Facebook as conducted by the BOSCH ARC
Other general Rally Calder information and highlights include;
- Live Internet from event via rally.com.au
- Rally Calder Shortband Radio
- Ceremonial Start on Thursday March 1st at West Waters Hotel Caroline Springs
- Displays (including new vehicle drive area), vendors and kids zone
- Ticketing through Foxtix including general admission, grandstand (option of tarmac thunderdome or gravel paddock), corporate hospitality and very special “intercom club”
The very basic event schedule at this point in time looks like this;
Thursday March 1st 2012
4pm : Rally Show Commences – West Waters Hotel, Caroline Springs
7pm : Ceremonial Start Commences – West Waters Hotel, Caroline Springs
10pm : Ceremonial Start Concludes
Friday March 2nd 2012
Am : Reconnaisance and Media Activities
2pm : Gates Open to Public
3pm-9:30pm : Bosch ARC Stages 1-8, CAMS Tarmac Rally Stages 1-5, Side by Side Stages 1 and 2, rallyschool.com.au Hotlaps and Drift Demonstrations
10:30pm : Gates close to public
Saturday March 3rd 2012
7:30am : Gates Open to Public
8:00-9:00 : Bosch ARC Stages 9-24, CAMS Tarmac Rally Stages 6-16, Side by Side Stages , rallyschool.com.au Hotlaps, Drift Demonstrations and ARC Forum Battle (Time Attack, Rally one lap dash, Gymkhana and Drag events).
10:00 : Gates Close to Public
Sunday March 4th 2012
7:30am : Gates Open to Public
8:00-12:20 : Bosch ARC Stages 25-27, CAMS Tarmac Rally Stages 17-21, Side by Side Stages, rallyschool.com.au Hotlaps, Drift Demonstrations and ARC Forum Battle (Show n Shine only)
12:20-12:30 : ARC Forum Battle Presentation
12:30-1pm : Parade, Grid and National Anthem
1:15-3:50 : Finals for Bosch ARC, CAMS Tarmac Rally and Side x Side
4:00-4:30 : Podium Presentations
5:30 : Gates Close to Public
7:00pm-late : Rally and ARC Forum Battle presentations at West Waters Hotel, Caroline Springs.
For further information please stay tuned to the Rally Calder Page on rally.com.au. Information will also be forwarded to forums via Go2Space as it becomes available.
On behalf of everyone involved with the BOSCH Australian Rally Championship and Rally Calder we welcome the competitors and supporters of the ARC Forum Battle and look forward to 3 great days of motorsport and comradery come March 2nd next year.
Regards
Scott Pedder
Chief Executive Officer
Web:
www.rally.com.au
