Narooma Forest Rally

About the Narooma Forest Rally

The Narooma Forest Rally is a gravel rally run on closed forest roads in the NSW state forests around Narooma and Bodalla, on the NSW South Coast (Eurobodalla), organised by the Brindabella Motor Sport Club (Inc.) — now in its 12th year running events in the region. The 2026 event ran from 26–28 June as Round 3 of the EROAD Australian Rally Championship — its first-ever running at national ARC level — while also forming a round of the NSW Rally Championship, NSW Clubman Rally Series and ACT Regional Rally Series. Based at Bill Smyth Oval, the ARC entry covered 12 special stages totalling 145.26 competitive kilometres and drew a 22-car field. Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia's Harry Bates and Coral Taylor swept both heats to win outright by 13.6 seconds over Scott Pedder/Glenn Macneall, setting a new ARC record for most Heat wins in a season. Shakewell Racing made their own ARC debut here, nursing a failing clutch to 18th outright.

Championship

Round 3 of the 2026 EROAD Australian Rally Championship (ARC); also a round of the Shamrock Haulage NSW Rally Championship, the NSW Clubman Rally Series and the Techworkz Automotive ACT Regional Rally Series

Organiser

Brindabella Motor Sport Club (Inc.)

Base

Narooma, NSW

Surface

Gravel

The route & format

• Format: Fri 26 – Sun 28 June 2026. ARC entry: 12 special stages (6 per day), 145.26 competitive km — ~79.5 km Saturday, ~66 km Sunday. Stages included Even Stephens 1 & 2 (Sat) and Gunda Gunda 1 & 2 (Sun).
• Terrain: Fast-flowing, technical forest gravel roads in the NSW state forests around Narooma and Bodalla.

Narooma Forest Rally 2026 results

• 2026 ARC result: Harry Bates/Coral Taylor (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) won both heats, 13.6s ahead of Scott Pedder/Glenn Macneall (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2); Lewis Bates/Anthony McLoughlin 3rd. Bates broke the ARC record for most Heat wins in a season and extended his championship lead to 20 points.
• Shakewell Racing 2026 result: Chora/Ferrante's first-ever pace-noted stage (self-written notes after a year of blind rallying) came here — 24th in Heat 1, up to 18th in Heat 2, 18th outright, on a clutch that failed mid-event.

Where spectators watched

Free. The 2026 event published a full ARC Spectator Guide with two official spectator points — one each day — plus a free Friday-night Rally Show at Nata Oval and free walk-in access to the service park at Bill Smyth Oval. The ARC asked fans to claim free tickets through its Eventbrite registration page; there was no paid ticket for any part of the event. The one event-specific rule at both points: park on the right-hand side of the road only.

Spectator points

• Western Boundary Road, Turlinjah — Saturday

  Signposted off the Princes Highway roughly 25 km north of Narooma, past Bodalla. Two passes of the stage with live commentary, first car 09:00 and again 12:50. Park on the right-hand side only.

• Cobra Road, Kianga — Sunday

  Off the Princes Highway just north of Narooma at Kianga, then about 10 km inland. Two passes with commentary, first car 09:50 and 13:20. Right-hand-side parking only.

• Service park, Bill Smyth Oval

  Barker Parade, Narooma — free walk-in, park in the surrounding streets. Watch crews and mechanics work between loops: open from 07:00 both days, with services late morning and mid-afternoon Saturday, mid-morning Sunday, and the podium at 14:30 Sunday. Food trucks on site.

• Rally Show, Nata Oval — Friday

  Bluewater Drive, Narooma, 17:00-19:00 on the Friday before the rally starts. Cars and crews on display in driving suits; street parking and public toilets on site.

How 2026 ran

1. Wednesday 24 – Thursday 25 June 2026

   Service park bump-in and Rally HQ opening at Club Narooma from midday Wednesday, with documentation. Thursday: reconnaissance 07:30-16:00, ARC scrutineering, turbo sealing and weighing from 15:00, RallySafe distribution 16:00-18:00.

2. Friday 26 June 2026

   Recce resumes 07:30, scrutineering 08:00-16:00, testing 08:00-12:00, shakedown 12:30-13:30 (streamed), crew briefing 16:00, Rally Show at Nata Oval 17:00-19:00, Heat 1 start list published 19:00.

3. Saturday 27 June 2026 — Heat 1

   07:00 service park opens, 08:00 first ARC car away. Western Boundary first pass 09:00, service 11:12, Western Boundary again 12:50, service 14:32, first car into overnight parc fermé 16:10. Heat 2 start list 20:00.

4. Sunday 28 June 2026 — Heat 2

   07:00 service park opens, 08:00 first ARC car away. Cobra Road first pass 09:50, service 10:19, Cobra Road again 13:20, end-of-day service 13:48, podium at the service park 14:30.

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: Narooma is on the Princes Highway on the NSW far south coast — about three hours south-east of Canberra and roughly five south of Sydney, sealed highway the whole way. Nearest airports are Moruya, about 38 km north with Rex flights to Sydney, and Merimbula about 76 km south. Fuel, supermarkets and ATMs are all in Narooma itself, and both spectator points are short gravel runs off the highway so a normal car is fine — but expect no reliable mobile coverage once you're in the forest.
• Where to stay: Narooma is a proper coastal holiday town, so beds exist: motels, pubs, and holiday parks including BIG4 Narooma Easts and Discovery Parks Narooma Beach for cabins, powered sites and camping. Late June is Narooma's off-season, which is exactly why the club runs the event then, so it isn't the usual coastal-town scramble. Dalmeny, Kianga, Bodalla and Tuross Head are all within 20 minutes if Narooma does fill.
• While you’re there: Montague Island (Barunguba) is 9 km offshore with an 1888 lighthouse, fur seals and little penguins on guided tours from the Narooma wharf. In town there's Australia Rock and the Glasshouse Rocks, the Mill Bay Boardwalk and Wagonga Inlet cruises on the 117-year-old Wagonga Princess, plus the 85 km Narooma Trails mountain bike network. Late June is peak humpback migration, and the heritage village of Central Tilba is 15 minutes south.

Entering

Entries are lodged through the ARC's WOLF portal. For 2026 they opened 1 May with the supplementary regulations and closed 12 June, with the entry list published 15 June and the field capped at 60 crews, priority going to ARC-registered and higher-seeded drivers. Entry fees were $2,600 for the ARC, $1,600 for the NSW Rally Championship and $1,100 each for NSW Clubman and ACT Regional; optional ARC testing was $550 per car. Reconnaissance ran Thursday and Friday with a 60 km/h stage limit and mandatory RallySafe Lite tracking.

Worth knowing

• Notable: Free public spectating; spectator points at Western Boundary Road, Turlinjah (Saturday) and Cobra Road, Kianga (Sunday).

Stage by stage

All 12 special stages — 145.26 km — with our stage times. Watch the full onboard of every stage on @shakewellracingpov.