Imbil Rally

About the Imbil Rally

The Imbil Rally (also known as the Imbil Forest Rally) is Round 5 of the 2026 Queensland Rally Championship (QRC), held on 3-4 October 2026 over the Queensland October long weekend and based at Imbil in the Mary Valley, Gympie Region, about 160 km north of Brisbane. It is a gravel event whose competitive stages run on forestry roads in the Imbil State Forest, organised by the Brisbane Sporting Car Club (BSCC) — one of Queensland's oldest motorsport clubs, affiliated since 1954. BSCC has run an Imbil round most years since at least 2018 under a rotating naming-sponsor title; for 2026 the state calendar lists the round as a "QRC Double Header," a change from the traditional single-day format to a full two-day event.

Championship

Queensland Rally Championship (QRC), Round 5 of 2026

Organiser

Brisbane Sporting Car Club (BSCC)

Base

Imbil

Surface

Gravel

The route & format

• Format: Two full days, 7am Saturday to 6pm Sunday — expanded from the traditional single-day Imbil rallysprint. BSCC's event page (checked 30 August 2026) confirms it runs as two separate rallysprint rallies over the weekend, billed as "QRC 5 & QRC 1", based out of the Imbil Showgrounds. Exact stage counts are not yet published.
• Terrain: Forest gravel — competitive stages run on forestry roads in the Imbil State Forest, in the Mary River valley.

Watching it

Spectators are welcome and no admission charge has ever been advertised for a BSCC Queensland Rally Championship round. Imbil's 2026 spectator instructions weren't published as of 30 July 2026 — BSCC releases a separate spectator pack PDF a few weeks out (the 15 August Classic Queensland pack appeared on 29 July). Expect the standard BSCC rules: stay behind the bunting, obey the spectator marshals, no fires or smoking at view points, dogs and young children discouraged — and dogs must be restrained under the plantation's forest rules — take your litter home and park facing the way out.

Spectator points

• Imbil Showgrounds — Rally HQ and service park

  In Imbil village itself, the confirmed 2026 base for both days. Free to wander in and see cars, crews and repairs between loops, and the one location you can rely on without waiting for the spectator pack. Cars come and go all day, roughly 07:00 to 18:00 both days.

• Forest spectator points — not published for 2026

  Not published as of 30 July 2026. BSCC's 2026 pattern is two signposted points per event, each with odometer-by-odometer driving directions from the rally base, a marked car park, a short walk of around 300 m to the viewing area, and three "first car due" times so you know when the field passes. Watch bscc.asn.au for the Imbil pack from around early to mid September.

• Stages used recently — for orientation only

  All in Imbil State Forest, a working plantation on gravel. The 2025 weekender used Mitchell Creek and Woodlands on the Saturday and Caseys and The Dam on the Sunday, each run three times plus two runs in reverse. The 2024 event used Derrier, Branch and Colburn. The 2026 route hasn't been announced.

Running order

1. Saturday 3 October 2026

   BSCC's calendar lists the event window opening at 07:00. Day one is a standalone rally sprint scored in its own right, based at the Imbil Showgrounds. Clock times for scrutineering, briefing, start and finish will only appear in the supplementary regulations, unpublished as of 30 July 2026.

2. Sunday 4 October 2026

   A second, completely separate rally sprint, again from the Imbil Showgrounds, with the calendar showing the event closing at 18:00. Detailed timings not yet published.

3. How the 2025 running was shaped — a guide only

   The same two-event weekender ran 10 stages and 69 km on the Saturday and 10 stages and 62 km on the Sunday, for 20 stages and 131 competitive km in total, with a regularity class on both days.

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: Imbil sits in the Mary Valley about 160 km and just over two hours north of Brisbane — Bruce Highway north, exit at Cooroy and inland through Kandanga. Sunshine Coast Airport is closer at about 72 km and an hour away, and Gympie is 35 km and about 30 minutes north. Roads into Imbil are sealed, but every stage is gravel plantation road inside Imbil State Forest, so drive to spectator points on formed roads only and expect patchy reception once you're in the trees. Imbil village has a single service station — fill up properly at Gympie, Cooroy or Kenilworth before you head into the forest.
• Where to stay: Imbil is a village, not a town, and this is a Queensland long weekend, so book well ahead. In and beside the village there's the Imbil Motel, Imbil Caravan Park, Imbil Camping Retreat on Imbil Island Road — 12 acres of shaded parkland on Yabba Creek with powered and unpowered sites plus cabins, dogs welcome — and a B&B on York Street. Ten minutes west toward the lake is Borumba Deer Park, with camping from about $22 per adult and cabins from around $210 a night, a kiosk and camp kitchen. If Imbil is full, Gympie holds most of the district's motel stock. Note that pumped-hydro early works nearby have their own workforce accommodation camps, which adds pressure to local beds.
• While you’re there: The Mary Valley Rattler is the standout — a restored C17 steam locomotive running from historic Gympie Station through Dagun to Amamoor, where it turns on a restored turntable. It operates Wednesdays and Saturdays, so it clashes with rally day one, and bookings are by phone. Closer to base, Lake Borumba and Yabba Creek are good for kayaking, fishing and dawn or dusk platypus spotting, and the Amama Platypus Walk is a 2.5 km circuit past waterfalls to Diamondfield Lookout. On the Saturday, Dagun Growers Market runs from 3pm at the historic station, and the Kandanga Farm Store and nearby produce growers make a decent food loop. Rainbow Beach and the gateway to K'gari are about two hours east.

Entering

Entries for BSCC Queensland Rally Championship rounds are lodged online through WOLF Sports, with civil and Motorsport Australia competition licences uploaded through the platform. There is no reconnaissance and pace notes are strictly prohibited, with random checks of cars and crews. Imbil's 2026 supplementary regulations, entry fee and close date still hadn't been published as of 30 August 2026; BSCC put the 15 August Classic Queensland regs out on 4 July with entries closing 3 August — about six weeks ahead — so expect the Imbil regs and entry link in early September. For scale only, the far longer Classic Queensland charged $1,086 for QRC, 2WD and Junior entries paid on time; Imbil is a much shorter rally sprint, so its fee will differ. The 2025 weekender drew 33 starters on the Saturday and 34 on the Sunday.

On this page: the route and format, 3 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: BSCC has run an Imbil round most years since 2018 under rotating naming sponsors ("Globe Roamer," "Lakes Hyundai Imbil Forest Rally") — for 2026 it carries SR Automotive naming rights. 2022: won by Ronnie Bustard/Larisa Biggar by 4 seconds from a 51-car field.

Worth knowing

• Notable: Imbil (pop. ~1,071) sits on the route of the Mary Valley Rattler heritage railway, a restored 1914 line running tourist journeys from Gympie — a genuine visitor drawcard alongside the rally.