Rally Australia canceled

The day before yesterday, the organizers of the Rally of Australia, final of WRC 2019, announced that the route would be greatly reduced due to the fires devastating regional New South Wales. And this before revealing it yesterday: A total of less than 100 km divided into four SS, to be covered several times, for a total of 94,37 km of timed sector compared to 593,52 km of total distance initially planned.

Today, after discussions with the government, the FIA, the safety services and the local community, the decision was taken simply to cancel the event. This is not surprising when you consider that New South Wales has been declared a state of emergency and the situation in some areas is described as catastrophic.

The end of season evening scheduled for Monday at the Australian National Maritime Museum (Sydney) has obviously also been canceled.

President of the event, Andrew Papadopoulos affirmed that this was the only possible option, especially since the event brings together more than 1000 people (officials, competitors or others, etc.).

« The interests and safety of everyone involved in the rally and, of course, the wider community, take precedence, did he declare. It would not be appropriate to continue the test. Our hearts go out to the NSW community, especially those who have lost loved ones or their homes as a result of the fires. We thank all those involved in this ordeal for their support and understanding. »

Thoughts shared by the entire AUTO editorial teamhebdo.