NATIONAL CAPITAL RALLY NEXT WEEK HAS BEEN POSTPONED

Good afternoon,

This is being sent out via various means so you may see it 2 or 3 times, sorry, it's better you get the message a few times than miss it all together.

Formal details are below, but the main gist is that the NatCap Rally planned for next weekend is now postponed to a date yet to be fixed later in the year. This is of course due to the current Covid-19 pandemic and whilst there is no real 'mass meetings' apart from maybe the service park, the organisers have opted to call it early so people travelling long distances have time to cancel their travel plans.

I thank those who had volunteered to assist next weekend, and hope you can all see your way to assisting with other WICEN events during the year as well as the rescheduled NatCap when and if it occurs.

Please see the below messages (and note that WICEN Members are NOT on the BMSC Volunteer Database as part of our involvement)

Please look after yourselves and stay healthy

Regards,

Phillip Longworth VK1PL Deputy State Coordinator, WICEN ACT Treasurer and Life Member, Canberra Region Amateur Radio Club Communications Manager, Netier National Capital Rally 2020.

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Hi Everyone,

As usual thank you all for your support of the Netier National Capital Rally.

Our events do not happen without the support of you all and it is with a lot of sadness that the decision has had to be made to postpone the rally.

I will keep you all on our database and will be in contact as soon as we know more details about the event.

The official Press release is below.

Thank you again,

Kind regards Cheryl Holberton Volunteers Co-ordinator Brindabella Motor Sport Club Canberra 0408 103 234

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Netier National Capital Rally postponed

Motorsport Australia wishes to advise that Canberra's opening round of the RSEA Safety Motorsport Australia Rally Championship (ARC) has been postponed.

Due to the ongoing issues surrounding COVID-19 and in consultation with the ACT Government, organisers of the Netier National Capital Rally have made the decision to postpone the 21-22 March event until later in the year. The organisers reluctantly made the decision with the health and safety of crews, volunteers and the general public in mind.

Motorsport Australia Director of Motorsport & Commercial Operations Michael Smith said it was disappointing the start of the rally season would be delayed, but logistics and travel requirements had meant the decision had to be made now.

"We were contacted by event organisers who told us they felt it was no longer possible to guarantee that the event could go ahead next weekend if there were further restrictions placed on events and the community in the coming week," Smith explained.

"Given the logistical challenges involved in having teams across the country travel to Canberra, including those travelling long distances such as those crews from Western Australia, the decision to postpone the event was made with enough time to allow teams to avoid any unnecessary travel.

"All rally fans will be disappointed that the event cannot go ahead, but unfortunately it is a challenging time for events across Australia and around the world."

The opening round of the ARC was scheduled to take place in Canberra in a week's time, however a new date will be announced as soon as possible, with a number of potential dates later in the year being discussed. Competitors who entered the opening round will receive a refund on their entry fees.

Motorsport Australia will continue to liaise with all motorsport event organisers and governments across the country regarding future events in all disciplines, with an internal working group meeting regularly to discuss the issues.

"Each motorsport event is very different when it comes to the number of competitors, spectators and the locations, so this decision certainly doesn't mean that all other motorsport events need to be postponed at the present time," Smith added.

"Motorsport Australia is closely monitoring the situation and will continue to provide updates on its website and to members, competitors, officials and event organisers as required."

Motorsport Australia also acknowledges the Federal Government's announcement today regarding the restriction on public gatherings, but believes at this time many events are in a position to continue, based on the restrictions in place.

Regular updates on the COVID-19 situation will continue to be provided on motorsport.org.au in the coming days.