Gippsland Rally

About the Gippsland Rally

The Middle of Everywhere Gippsland Rally is a two-day gravel forest rally held on 20-22 November 2026 in Central Gippsland, Victoria — for the first time as Round 6 and season finale of the six-round 2026 EROAD Australian Rally Championship, having previously run mid-season, and also a round of the Victorian Rally Championship. Organised by Vroom Events (Inc) with assistance from the CCRMIT car club, its competitive stages run on gravel forestry roads through the State Forest high country around Heyfield, while for 2026 Rally Central and Event HQ relocate from Gordon Street Recreation Reserve, Heyfield, to the fully sealed West Sale Airport. Day one gets an entirely new four-stage loop, a change organisers attribute to ongoing State Forest access limits from flood/fire reconstruction. Night stages return for 2026, and the 2025 running (Round 4, not the finale) drew 7,000+ spectators.

Championship

EROAD Australian Rally Championship (ARC) — Round 6 / season finale of 2026; also run as a round of the Victorian Rally Championship (VRC)

Organiser

Vroom Events (Inc), with assistance from the CCRMIT car club

Base

West Sale Airport, Central Gippsland

Surface

Gravel

The route & format

• Format: ~215 km competitive across the weekend. Day one: all-new four-stage loop, two new spectator points. Night stages return, with STEDI back as the ARC's Official Light Partner for a second year.
• Terrain: State Forest forestry roads through the Gippsland high country around Heyfield.

Watching it

Free — every 2026 Australian Rally Championship spectator point is free, with free tickets registered in advance through the ARC's Eventbrite collection so organisers can manage numbers. The 2026 Gippsland spectator guide was still listed as "coming soon" as of 30 July 2026; past guides have landed roughly four to six weeks out. Standing rules from the event's own guide: strictly no dogs at public viewing points, no fires or smoking, keep young children under control, obey the marshals, park facing the way out and take all litter home.

Spectator points

• Two new day-one points — names not yet published

  The Clerk of Course has confirmed the opening day of competition is an all-new four-stage loop "along with two new spectator points as a result". Neither had been named or located as of 30 July 2026 — they'll appear in the 2026 spectator guide.

• Rally Central and service park — West Sale Airport, new for 2026

  Relocated from Gordon Street Recreation Reserve in Heyfield to West Sale Airport, 10 km west of Sale off the Princes Highway. Entry is free and it's the one place you can walk among the teams: fully asphalted hard-stand servicing, food vendors, event merchandise and car displays. The move puts the whole operation on sealed ground rather than a grass reserve.

• Glenmaggie — used in 2025, expect it back on day two

  Drive to the Tyson Road and Angle Channel Road corner and follow the Spectator Way signs, entering only from Tyson Road — never from Tinamba-Seaton Road. Park on the east side of Tyson Road only, then a short walk brings you to a tight corner against a forest backdrop. Food trucks and toilets on site, daytime only.

• Cowwarr — used in 2025, the night-stage point

  Head for Cowwarr Weir, follow the Spectator Way signs through the weir park, then continue 1.6 km along Downings Road to spectator parking — enter only from the weir, not from Stoney Creek Road. Cars run west on Stoney Creek Road, throw it left into the fast entry, right at a sharp triangulation, then power out through a sweeping left and up the hill. Hosts the spectator lounge with local food vendors.

• Rally Show and ceremonial start — Friday, 2026 venue not confirmed

  In 2025 the weekend opened with a Rally Show at Port of Sale, cars on display 16:00-19:00 with the ceremonial start at 18:00, plus a merchandise tent, food trucks, a rally simulator and driver meet-and-greets; it drew over 1,000 people in 2024. Organisers say the move to Sale keeps all the major activity close together, but the 2026 Friday venue and time hadn't been announced as of 30 July 2026.

Running order

1. Thursday 19 – Friday 20 November 2026

   Testing on the Thursday, with reconnaissance running Thursday to Friday — this is a pace-noted event. Scrutineering is run by the organiser; clock times not yet published.

2. Saturday 21 November 2026 — day one

   An all-new four-stage loop with two new spectator points, and night stages return with STEDI back as the ARC's Official Light Partner. No first-car or service times published as of 30 July 2026.

3. Sunday 22 November 2026 — day two

   Organisers describe day two's schedule as similar to 2025, taking crews to up to 215 km of competition across the weekend. Podium and presentation times not yet published.

4. How 2025 ran — a guide only, not 2026 times

   Friday: Rally Show at Port of Sale 16:00-19:00, ceremonial start 18:00. Saturday: first car 12:30, stages through the afternoon, a dusk stage at 17:45, service to 20:40. Sunday: service from 09:30, stages from 10:10, podium 16:00. Important caveat — 2025 ran in August under standard time, while 2026 runs in late November under daylight saving, so the night-stage timings will be materially later.

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: Sale sits 215 km east of Melbourne on the Princes Highway — a fully sealed run of roughly two and a half hours — and is on the V/Line Melbourne-Bairnsdale railway line. West Sale Airport, the 2026 Rally Central and service park, is 10 km west of Sale, reached from the Princes Highway via a short access road and a railway level crossing, so allow time if you arrive with the crowd. The stages themselves are gravel forestry roads in the State Forest high country around Heyfield, Cowwarr and Glenmaggie, roughly 40-60 km north of Sale; fuel and supplies are in Sale, Maffra and Heyfield, not in the forest.
• Where to stay: Sale is the largest town in Wellington Shire and the natural 2026 base, with Heyfield and Maffra closer to the stages. The shire's own tourism site lists the Sale Showgrounds and Motorhome Park, a motel in Heyfield, the Maffra RV Park, and self-contained accommodation across Tinamba, Maffra, Heyfield and Newry. Book early — after the 2024 running the council reported hotels, motels and short-stay rentals extensively booked, with over 1,000 visitors staying four to seven days and some venues reserved a year ahead.
• While you’re there: In Sale itself, the Port of Sale boardwalk and the Nakunbalook Environmental and Cultural Education Centre, plus the Gippsland Armed Forces Museum, which sits on the West Sale Airport site. North of town, Cowwarr Weir, Lake Glenmaggie and the Macalister River, and the Blores Hill Mountain Bike Park near Tinamba and Heyfield. South, Ninety Mile Beach at Seaspray and Golden Beach; further afield the Gippsland Lakes Coastal Park, Tarra-Bulga National Park with Agnes Falls, and the Alpine National Park via Licola and Dargo.

Entering

Entries run through WOLF, and the schedule is now published (checked 30 August 2026): competitor entries open 7:00am Friday 25 September and close 11:30pm Friday 6 November, with media accreditation open over the same window, under Motorsport Australia permit 826/2211/01. The ARC26 Sporting & Technical Regulations and their addendum are attached to the WOLF listing; the entry fee and field cap are still to be published. It's a pace-noted event with testing on 19 November and recce on 19-20 November. Separately, ARC championship registration costs a refundable $100 per driver, refunded after your first 2026 entry, and you must present a Motorsport Australia competition licence, civil driving licence, affiliated car club membership, vehicle logbook and registration papers. The 2025 field was about 48 crews — roughly 21 in the ARC and 27 in the Victorian Rally Championship. Note the WOLF page still lists HQ as "to be confirmed, Heyfield" — that's stale; the event site's West Sale Airport is correct.

On this page: the route and format, 5 spectator points, the running order, travel and accommodation, entry fees and deadlines. Entries and official documents are handled by the organisers on the official event page.

History & form

• History: 2023 & 2024 winner: Harry Bates/Coral Taylor. 2025 winner: Hayden Paddon/John Kennard (Hyundai i20N), his third straight 2025 ARC win.
• 2026 ARC context: Round 6 of 6, following Rally Queensland, Forest Rally Perth, Narooma, Rally Tasmania and Adelaide Hills. As of Round 3, Harry Bates led the standings from Scott Pedder and Lewis Bates, with two rounds still to run before Gippsland.

Worth knowing

• Notable: First year as the ARC finale in this November slot. 2025 drew 7,000+ spectators to the previous Heyfield venue.