Rally of the Bay

About the Rally of the Bay

Lazer Rally of the Bay 2026 was a single-day gravel rally held on Saturday 25 July 2026 in and around Batemans Bay on the NSW South Coast, run by Sydney's North Shore Sporting Car Club (NSSCC) for around 30 years. The State Championship Bay Stages comprised eight special stages on forest gravel roads through the Eurobodalla forests — Ridge Runner, Barking Highway, School of Lyons (run twice), Runnyford Rd, Buckenbowra, Lyon of Pigs and Black River — and counted as Round 3 of the NSW Rally Championship, East Coast Classic and NSW Clubman series. For 2026 the event HQ moved to the Bay Pavilions precinct in the town centre. High attrition claimed a third of the field — 29 started, only 19 finished, including a head-gasket DNF for former ARC champion Scott Pedder — but Clayton Hoy and Brad Jones (Mitsubishi Evo 6) took outright victory. Shakewell Racing's classic Impreza wagon finished 14th outright, 5th in the East Coast Classic.

Championship

Round 3 of the Shamrock Haulage NSW Rally Championship (NSWRC), the East Coast Classic Rally Series (ECCRS) 2WD and 4WD, and the NSW Clubman Rally Series; also counts toward the ACT Regional Rally Series, and includes the Shamrock Haulage RD Cup regularity event.

Organiser

North Shore Sporting Car Club (NSSCC)

Base

Batemans Bay, NSW

Surface

Gravel

The route & format

• Format: Single-day rally, 8 special stages (1 repeated), ~140 competitive km, through the Eurobodalla forests including the iconic River Road stage.

Rally of the Bay 2026 results

• 2026 result: Clayton Hoy/Brad Jones (Mitsubishi Evo 6) won outright, ahead of Jamie Luff/Brad Luff (Toyota Yaris GR) and Tony Sullens/Julia Barkley (Citroën DS3, who took the NSWRC points lead despite finishing 3rd). Of 29 starters only 19 finished — Scott Pedder/Glenn Macneall retired with a blown head gasket while running 3rd.
• Shakewell Racing 2026 result: The classic Subaru Impreza wagon finished 14th outright, 5th in the East Coast Classic Rally Series and 4th in the ECCRS Open-4WD class.

Where spectators watched

Free — NSSCC published official spectator instructions for 2026 with three viewing areas: the town-centre service park plus two forest stages, with no ticket or entry fee. The rules: stay inside the bunting, cross only at the green designated crossing point, obey the spectator marshals, don't find your own way in via unlisted roads, no fires or smoking, take your litter home, and dogs and young children are discouraged. There's no spectator parking inside the service park — use public car parks or street parking in town.

Spectator points

• Service park, Bay Pavilions — the town-centre drawcard

  New for 2026 the service park sat in the heart of town, in the car park on Vesper Street opposite Rally HQ, walkable from the Batemans Bay cafes and shops. It doubled as the ceremonial start, with the Eurobodalla Mayor flagging cars away from 08:45 at two-minute intervals, then services from 11:49, 14:00 and 15:53 before crews headed out to the night stages at 16:18. Food and coffee traders on site; no spectator parking inside the service park itself.

• Barking Highway — SS2

  A forest point about 39.71 km from the service park, reached only from the Old Princes Highway via Boardinghouse Road. The field passes once only, first car on stage 09:51, and there are no facilities — bring your own food and drink.

• Buckenbowra — SS6

  About 14.55 km from the service park, accessed only from Ross Ridge Road, for the longest stage of the rally at 29.01 km with first car on stage 14:58. The organisers warn the access road is rutted and rough and recommend only vehicles with extra ground clearance.

How 2026 ran

1. Thursday 23 – Friday 24 July 2026

   Rally HQ opens at Bay Pavilions from 17:00 Thursday for competitor pack collection. Friday brings the new after-dark shakedown, a 2.88 km stage running 14:30-18:30 for registered competitors only at $350 per car with no passenger rides, plus at-event scrutineering 16:00-19:00 and recce closing at 17:00.

2. Saturday 25 July 2026 — morning

   05:30 Rally HQ and service park open, 06:45 start order posted, 08:00 drivers' briefing, 08:45 first car away. Ridge Runner 09:28, Barking Highway 09:51, School of Lyons 11:04, then service 11:49-12:04.

3. Saturday 25 July 2026 — afternoon and night

   Runnyford Rd 12:22, School of Lyons again 13:15, service 14:00-14:20, then the 29.01 km Buckenbowra at 14:58 and a final service 15:53-16:13. The last two — Lyon of Pigs 16:41 and Black River 17:24 — both run into darkness under lights. First car at the finish 17:59, presentation from about 22:30 at the Catalina Club on Beach Road.

4. The shorter events

   The Bay Ramble ran six stages for 101.86 competitive km, finishing after Buckenbowra with the first car home about 16:03. The RD Cup regularity ran the first four stages behind the main field as a separate seeded group, first car away about 10:15.

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: Batemans Bay is on the Princes Highway on the NSW South Coast, with HQ and the service park right in the town centre on Vesper Street. Canberra is the closest capital at under two hours via the Kings Highway; Sydney is 3.5-4 hours and Melbourne about seven. Moruya Airport, roughly 25 minutes south, takes Rex flights from Sydney and Melbourne, otherwise fly to Canberra. Access to town and the service park is fully sealed; the stages are Eurobodalla forest gravel, and the Buckenbowra spectator access off Ross Ridge Road is rough enough that the organisers recommend extra ground clearance.
• Where to stay: Batemans Bay is a well-serviced coastal town, and the 2026 event listed four accommodation partners — Batemans Bay Marina Resort, The Oaks Ranch at Mossy Point, Mariners on the Waterfront, and Batemans Bay Holiday Park for cabins and caravan or camping sites — asking people to book direct and mention the rally. Because HQ moved into the town centre for 2026, most of it is a short walk or drive from the service park, with the Catalina Club as the event's social hub.
• While you’re there: Mogo, 10 minutes south on the Princes Highway, has Mogo Wildlife Park and a heritage village strip, plus the Mogo Trails mountain-bike network on the forest roads next door to the rally stages. The Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Garden is nearby, and the region's beaches and Clyde River oyster tours are the other draw, with boat operators running Batemans Bay cruises. The shire promotes close to 400 km of walking and cycling paths through the coastal villages.

Entering

Entries ran through WOLF, opening 10:00 Friday 26 June 2026 and closing 18:00 Monday 20 July, capped at 55 entries plus five reserves across all three events combined. Fees were $1,595 for the eight-stage Bay Stages on pacenotes or $1,545 roadbook-only; $1,435 or $1,385 for the six-stage Bay Ramble; and $640 for the four-stage RD Cup regularity — less a $25 NSSCC member discount per crew member up to $50. Fees covered service crew registration, insurance, council and forestry levies, the Motorsport Australia permit and RallySafe hire. Bay Stages and Bay Ramble crews need at least a Motorsport Australia Rally or Rally-Navigator licence plus a civil licence; the RD Cup needs only a Speed licence and a road-registered, insured car. Recce ran 29 June to 24 July for paid pacenote entrants only, at pre-registered times with the RallySafe Lite app and a 60 km/h limit on unsealed roads — roadbook-only entrants caught doing recce go to the Stewards. EVs were not eligible.

History & form

• History: NSSCC has run the rally in the Eurobodalla forests for around 30 years. Harry Bates — later an ARC champion and factory Toyota driver — won here in 2020.

Worth knowing

• Notable: New for 2026: Event HQ and service park moved to the Bay Pavilions precinct in the Batemans Bay town centre, plus a Friday after-dark shakedown.

Stage by stage

All 8 special stages — 137.91 km — with our stage times. Watch the full onboard of every stage on @shakewellracingpov.