Ada River Rally

About the Ada River Rally

The Draper's Civil Contracting Ada River Rally is a gravel rally run on forest logging roads in the Latrobe State Forest around Noojee, in the West Gippsland (Baw Baw) region of Victoria, roughly 128 km east of Melbourne — the flagship annual event of the Western District Car Club (WDCC), Victoria's oldest motorsport club, founded in Geelong in 1946. For 2026 it runs Saturday 22 August, moved from its original 16 May date, based at the Noojee Heritage Centre. It is run "blind" — fully route-charted with tulip diagrams, no reconnaissance and no pace notes — over 8 special stages and roughly 176 km of competition, divided into three heats each scored separately, and it runs through both daylight and night: the first car leaves at about 09:30 and the last is due back at 21:00. The rally has been based at Noojee since 2023, having previously run from Powelltown and Rokeby as the rebranded Cooper Memorial Rally, and won Victorian Motorsport Event of the Year in 2019.

Championship

Round 2 of the 2026 DRC 4x4 Victorian Rally Championship (and the Victorian 2WD, Under-2-litre, Clubman and Novice awards), Round 4 of the Shamrock Haulage NSW Rally Championship, and Round 5 of the 2026 2WD and 4WD East Coast Classic Rally Series

Organiser

Western District Car Club (WDCC)

Base

Noojee, Victoria

Surface

Gravel

The route & format

• Format: One day, 8 special stages, approximately 176 km competitive plus about 72 km of liaison, split into three separately-scored heats. Fully route-charted with intermediate distances and advisory tulip diagrams, run blind. Single central service and refuel point at the Noojee Heritage Centre, and the event runs into the night — last car due back at 21:00. Note the two official sources differ on distance: the supplementary regulations give ~176 km competitive and ~72 km liaison, while the organiser's own WOLF event listing states approximately 180 km competitive and 136 km liaison. The Further Regulations, out 16 August, should settle it.
• Terrain: Gravel forest logging roads in the Latrobe State Forest around Noojee — tight, twisty stages.

Ada River Rally 2026 results

Where spectators watched

Free — the Ada River Rally has never been ticketed, and access to the Noojee base and the forest viewing areas costs nothing. The supplementary regulations confirm a spectator guide will be available at Rally HQ, the event start and the service area, and online at vicrally.com.au and on the Sportity app in the week before the event; the number of spectator points is confirmed in the Further Regulations, issued after entries close on 12 August. The standard rules from the 2023 guide apply: stay behind the orange webbing inside the marked areas, obey the spectator marshals, keep dogs and children under control, no fires or smoking in the forest, park facing the way out and take your litter home.

Spectator points

• Noojee Heritage Centre — the rally base

  In the middle of Noojee on Mt Baw Baw Tourist Road, next door to the Noojee Hotel on the site of the town's old railway station, where the J550 steam locomotive sits. It's the ceremonial start, the single service park and refuel zone, parc fermé and the presentation, with catering on site from early morning — free to walk into, and the one place you're guaranteed to see every car.

• Toorongo Road — used in 2023, not confirmed for 2026

  About 18 km and 27 minutes from the service park: west through Noojee, follow the "Loch Valley" signs straight over the bridge, and where the bitumen ends at 9.1 km turn right onto Toorongo Road — gravel, 50 km/h, two-way traffic — then right at the campground, turn around and park on the left as signed. Cars arrive at a sweeping right before a left-hander, with good sightlines.

• Limberlost Road car park — used in 2023, not confirmed for 2026

  About 11.7 km from the service park: west through Noojee, veer left towards Powelltown, right towards Powelltown at 3.8 km, then left off the highway into the Limberlost motorcycle car park and walk 150 m to the viewing area. Only 300 m into the stage, so you watch cars turn right and stretch along a straight. Ample parking.

How 2026 ran

1. Friday 21 August 2026

   Test and sponsor-ride stage 12:00-17:00 at the Noojee Heritage Centre, $150 per car. Rally HQ opens 15:00-18:00 for documentation and RallySafe unit collection.

2. Saturday 22 August 2026

   06:00 Rally HQ opens, documentation 06:00-08:00, competitor briefing available online from 07:30, top-three ballot for start position 08:00, start order posted 08:15, start of competition 09:30 from the Noojee Heritage Centre. Eight stages across three heats with one central service and refuel at the Heritage Centre, running into the night — finish of competition 21:00, with the presentation to provisional winners after the last car and the first stewards' meeting.

3. Entry list

   The seeded entry list is out: 36 crews, with car numbers doubling as the start order — cars leave at two-minute intervals from 9:30, the first three positions ballot-drawn. A mixed field: Evos, Impreza WRXs and a Yaris GR against Escorts, a Datsun 1600, a P510, a Peugeot 504, a BMW E30 and a run of Hyundai Excels. Shakewell Racing runs as car 21, Chora/Ferrante, starting at 10:10. The full list is below.

4. Key dates

   Entries close 20:00 Wednesday 12 August. Further Regulations and the provisional start order — which carry the entry list, heat details, service details and the number of spectator points — are published 18:00 Sunday 16 August on the Sportity portal, with objections to the start order closing 18:00 Wednesday 19 August. Provisional results are posted Wednesday 26 August.

Access, timings and prices checked 30 August 2026. Organisers move spectator points and road closures at short notice — confirm on the official event page before you travel.

Getting there & staying

• Getting there: Noojee is 128 km east of Melbourne in West Gippsland. The easy run is the M1 Princes Freeway to Warragul or Drouin, then Main Neerim Road north through Neerim South — roughly 1 hour 45 to 2 hours, all sealed. The alternative from Melbourne's east is the Yarra Junction-Noojee Road via Powelltown, sealed but narrow and winding. Melbourne Airport is the nearest airport at about 2.5 hours. Fill up in Warragul, Drouin, Neerim South or Yarra Junction: Noojee is a village of about 150 people and the last stop with tourism services before Mt Baw Baw, and the forest spectator access roads turn to gravel — expect patchy coverage once you're in the Loch Valley.
• Where to stay: Accommodation in Noojee itself is genuinely limited, and the supplementary regulations have historically told competitors to book early to avoid missing out. In town there's a luxury B&B, a few cottages and self-contained places; the Noojee Hotel does meals daily but has no rooms. Bush camping at Toorongo Falls, The Poplars on Loch Valley Road and the Latrobe River, with caravan parks at Neerim South and Glen Cromie and more cottages and farmstays through Neerim South and North. Camping at the service park was permitted for competitors in designated areas in 2023 — confirm for 2026 before turning up with a swag.
• While you’re there: The Noojee Trestle Bridge is the real drawcard — a 102 m long, 20 m high, eighteen-span timber rail trestle rebuilt in 1939 after Black Friday, National Trust registered, with about 3 km of old rail formation beside it as a rail trail. Toorongo Falls Reserve just out of town has a short waterfall circuit walk and a camping ground, Noojee is well known for trout fishing, and Mt Baw Baw Alpine Resort is 48 km further up the road — snow is still possible in late August.

Entering

Run blind: fully route-charted with intermediate distances and advisory tulip diagrams, no reconnaissance and no pace notes. Entries are lodged through the WOLF Sports portal and must be paid in full to be valid — no cash at any time — and close 20:00 Wednesday 12 August 2026. The entry fee is $1,150, covering all application fees and levies including the trophy, publicity and road damage funds, Motorsport Australia personal accident insurance, RallySafe screen hire and two service crew nominations, with extra service crews at $15 each. Entries are accepted in order of receipt and the field is capped at 60 cars, with later crews becoming reserves and a ballot if the limit is exceeded on the same day; changing car or crew after entries close costs $50. Victorian entrants needing an Unregistered Vehicle Permit should apply as early as possible. All correspondence goes through the Sportity competitor portal — nothing is posted. The event runs under Motorsport Australia permit 326/2108/01.

History & form

• History: WDCC's flagship event since its Cooper Memorial Rally days; relocated Powelltown (2018-19) → Rokeby (2021-22) → Noojee (2023-present). Won Victorian Motorsport Event of the Year in 2019. Recent winners: 2023 Brendan Reeves/Kate Raymond; 2024 Brad Luff/Jamie Luff.

Worth knowing

• Notable: Free public viewing of the start/finish at the Noojee Railway Station Precinct, and camping is permitted at the service park in designated areas as directed by the organisers. A test and sponsor-ride day runs the Friday before, 12:00-17:00, at $150 per car.