2026 Season
Shakewell Racing — 2026 Gravel Rally Season
2026 is Shakewell Racing's first full season on gravel. After winning the Production 4WD class at Targa New Zealand in 2025, driver Michael Chora and co-driver Rachael Ferrante swapped tarmac trophies for loose stones — contesting rounds of the AMSAG Southern Cross Rally Series, the East Coast Classic Rally Series and the Australian Rally Championship (ARC) across New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia in a classic 1995 Subaru Impreza, before closing the year at the Silver Fern Rally in New Zealand.
The gravel debut came at the Rally of Bathurst in March (26th outright), followed by the Mitta Mountain Rally (16th) and the three-day Rally of the Heartland marathon in South Australia, where the pair finished 8th in the East Coast Classic field. June brought the AMSAG Bega Valley Rally (15th) and an Australian Rally Championship debut at the Narooma Forest Rally, where they came home 18th outright despite a failing clutch. Two mechanical DNFs — Mt Buller (turbo) and the Great Alpine Rally (turbo) — were the low points, either side of a three-week trip to the Nürburgring for the legendary 24 Hour race.
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Results so far
| Round | Date | State | Result | Field |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mt Buller Sprint | 13 February | Victoria | Retired — turbo | 38 of 51 classified |
| Rally of Bathurst | 14 March | NSW | 26th outright | 29 of 38 classified |
| Mitta Mountain Rally | 21 March | Victoria | 16th outright | 20 of 35 classified |
| Great Alpine Rally | 28 March | Victoria | Retired — turbo | 32 of 43 classified |
| Shannons Rally Heartland | 24-26 April | South Australia | 3rd in Classic 4WD, 8th in East Coast Classic | 16 of 20 classified |
| Bega Valley Rally | 6 June | NSW | 15th outright | 19 of 32 classified |
| Narooma Forest Rally | 27 June | NSW | 18th outright | 22 of 39 classified |
| Rally of the Bay | 25 July | NSW | 14th outright | 19 of 31 classified |
| Classic Queensland Rally | 15 August | Queensland | 2nd in Classic 4WD, 14th outright | 32 of 39 classified |
| Ada River Rally | 22 August | Victoria | 3rd in Classic 4WD, 15th outright | 30 of 36 classified |
2026 in pictures
Real photos from our 2026 season — click any shot to enlarge.
Behind the scenes
The workshop, the builds and the rest of the fleet — from a Nürburgring trip to the BMW E30 M3 and R32 GT-R projects.
Round by round
Mt Buller Sprint — 13 February, Victoria
Season opener in the alpine. ATR Round 1 — after Betsy dropped an engine days before.
Result: Retired — turbo
Mitta Mountain Rally — 21 March, Victoria
Week two on gravel. Building on Bathurst learnings.
Result: 16th outright
Great Alpine Rally — 28 March, Victoria
Back to tarmac after two weeks of gravel. Falls Creek.
Result: Retired — turbo
Shannons Rally Heartland — 24-26 April, South Australia
Three-day marathon. 1,000km from home.
Result: 3rd in Classic 4WD, 8th in East Coast Classic
Germany Trip — May-June, Nürburgring
Three weeks at the Nürburgring in the lead-up to the legendary 24 Hour race — German Police ride-along and a Ringfreaks collaboration.
Bega Valley Rally — 6 June, NSW
AMSAG Southern Cross round on the far South Coast. One of Australia’s oldest rallies.
Result: 15th outright
Narooma Forest Rally — 27 June, NSW
Our Australian Rally Championship round. Fast South Coast forest gravel.
Result: 18th outright
Rally of the Bay — 25 July, NSW
Round 3 of the NSW Rally Championship in the Eurobodalla forests out of Batemans Bay — also an East Coast Classic round.
Result: 14th outright
Classic Queensland Rally — 15 August, Queensland
Queensland Rally Championship. Faster, more flowing gravel.
Result: 2nd in Classic 4WD, 14th outright
Ada River Rally — 22 August, Victoria
Noojee forests. East Coast Classic Rally Series round (rescheduled from May).
Result: 3rd in Classic 4WD, 15th outright
Still to come
- MSS Safety Rally Barossa29 August · South AustraliaBarossa Valley gravel. Back to South Australia.
- Snowy River Sprint12-13 September · VictoriaBuchan, deep in Gippsland. Most remote event.
- Imbil Rally3-4 October · QueenslandQueensland Rally Championship in the Imbil State Forest.
- Great Tarmac Rally23-25 October · VictoriaThe tarmac season finale. Marysville.
- Oberon Rally31 October · NSWAMSAG round at Black Springs, near Oberon.
- Rally of Oberon14 November · NSWRally Car Club returns to the Jenolan forests — the finale of the NSW Rally Championship, East Coast Classic and NSW Clubman series.
- Gippsland Rally20-22 November · VictoriaARC finale at Heyfield. The last gravel round on home soil.
- New Zealand Silver Fern Rally27 November - 4 December · RotoruaEight days of classic gravel endurance across the North Island, starting and finishing in Rotorua. The season finale, and a return to New Zealand after the 2025 Targa title.