The rally was shown on 264 channels worldwide over 862 individual broadcasts. More than 53% of the broadcasts were of 30 minutes duration or more. Within Australia the event received five and a half hours of coverage on Network Ten, an additional five and a half hours of coverage on One HD, one hour on SBS and three 30 minute segments on Fox Sports.

Chairman of the Rally Australia Board, Mr Alan Evans, described the broadcast results as “very pleasing indeed”. Mr Evans stated “Considering this was our first event on the East Coast of Australia, and the first WRC round in Australia since 2006, to know that the rally and vision of the beautiful surroundings of Northern NSW were broadcast to more than 53 million people confirms our predictions that Repco Rally Australia is a great medium for promoting the region and NSW in general”.

“We are also delighted at the number of countries where the programmes were broadcast and especially the duration and the time slots achieved” he said. “The majority of programmes went to air in popular time slots and were of significant duration.

“Importantly” Mr Evans stated, “these figures do not include news programmes and sporting updates which are incorporated in normal network scheduling. No doubt there would be many more people who became aware of the event through these sources who were not viewers of the regular WRC programmes”.

Australia’s next round of the FIA World Rally Championship is scheduled to be conducted in Northern NSW in 2011.

With warm regards,
The Team at Rally Australia

The Rally organisers worked with the North East Waste Forums’ Waste Wise Events program to plan measures to avoid and reduce waste and implement recycling at the
first Northern Rivers round of the World Rally Championships, which took place from 3 to 6 September.

More than 250 bins were provided by Solo Resource Recovery to encourage the separation of waste from recycling at the Kingscliff Rally Service Park and the rally
spectator points in the Tweed Shire.

Karen Rudkin, Waste Wise Event Coordinator for the North East Waste Forum said “A waste audit revealed that the recyclables collected were predominately cardboard and paper, plastic drink bottles and aluminium drink cans and contamination levels were low enough to enable successful recovery and avoid disposal to landfill of these valuable resources”.

“Introducing waste reduction and recycling initiatives helped to lower the rally’s environmental impact and the information gathered can be used in future event planning
to assist in further reducing waste to landfill,” she said.

The NEWF is a group of five councils on the North Coast of New South Wales including Tweed Shire, working together towards cost-effective waste management and resource recovery solutions.

For more information on how to run a Waste Wise Event go to: http://www.northeastwasteforum.org.au

Figures received to date from several local volunteer organisations show that profits in excess of $30,000 have been raised by these community groups through their activities during the rally. It is expected that this figure will grow as more information becomes available.

The presentation of the Abu Dhabi “Spirit Of The Rally” award to Kyogle and Tweed Councils recognises “a display of extraordinary local generosity and determined organisation “. Full credit goes to the volunteers and community groups that embraced the event despite no prior association or familiarity with the motorsport and made it such a success.

“The Kyogle Chamber of Commerce have advised Council that whist they do not have any firm figures at this stage, that all businesses spoken to have expressed that they were very excited about the weekend takings,” said the Mayor.

Comments received from business owners included:

• “Business takings were 1000% up on a normal week-ends trade. The event was really fabulous and it was great to talk with the visitors who had wonderful things to say about our town and how friendly Kyogle people are. Spectators were well behaved and well mannered.”

• “A really good week-end. Business was up, the weather was superb, it brought the community together and there is still a real buzz around. Even if you weren’t a car buff you couldn’t help getting involved. It was great interacting with the visitors. We had people in here from Ireland, Western Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania, and 98% of them had never been to Kyogle before.

Kyogle visitor information centre statistics indicate visitors over the weekend were the equivalent of six months of the usual visitations.

The Mayor also advises that “in relation to the social impact of the rally, through the growing Kyogle committee, we have engaged a consultant to conduct and independent review for our local government area. As there has been some opposition to the rally, this independent research should go a long way to convincing the community that the review process is transparent and above reproach.”

The research will involve:

• Analysis of Kyogle visitor and expenditure data
• Analysis of results from a business survey
• Design and implementation of random resident phone surveys
• Attendance at a post event forum and documenting views and ideas (via digital recording & research notes)
• Production of a final report which pulls together the above research and provides one document on the social costs and benefits of the event to the Kyogle local government area community

The details -
• SBS One
• Sunday 13 September
• 2pm-3pm (check local guides)

The CTEK East I stage at Byrill Creek was stopped urgently and subsequently cancelled after rally officials received reports that large rocks or boulders had been placed on the road about to be driven by competitors and that rocks had been thrown at rally cars.

Rally Australia organising committee chairman Garry Connelly said there had been much debate about the incidents and it was necessary to set out the sequence that led to the stage being stopped.

He said that although the perpetrators had not been found yet, Rally Australia had never claimed they were representatives of the official No Rally group.

The organisers described the events on Friday 4 September on SS6 as follows -

The Course Information car went through the stage commencing around 9.38 am, finishing around 9.55 am. The course was clear at the time.

The 000 Car commenced the stage around 9.53 am and after proceeding a short distance came across a number of rocks and boulders placed around a corner in the middle of the road. It was the assessment of the crew of 000 that it would have been physically impossible for these rocks and boulders to have accidentally rolled on to the road.

The crew of 000 removed these rocks and boulders, the larger of which required two people to carry from the road. It was the assessment of the experienced crew that had a rally car hit these obstacles serious damage would have been caused and it might well have involved an accident which could have caused injury to either the crew or persons nearby.

Car 000 then continued on through the stage and approximately 500 metres later came across another set of rocks and boulders, which they removed from the roadway.

Car 00 then followed and had to stop at around the same location, due to a person coming on to the roadway and blocking it. This person proceeded to read what was apparently a prepared anti-rally message to the crew, who ultimately were able to move on and finish the stage.

Car 0 then entered the stage and reported that it had hit at high speed some fencing which had been dragged across the roadway, in the same location as 000 had encountered the rocks. A number of koala signs also were found to be missing from this area of road.

Around this time, between Car 0 starting the stage and the first competing car starting at 10.37 am, a security marshal near the area where the rocks had been discovered by the 000 Car was told by people who said they were against the rally that they intended to throw rocks at the competing cars. The security marshal moved to a location to report this to Rally HQ. However, the first and second cars had already started the stage. At this time an onlooker who did not appear to be associated with the anti-rally group advised the security marshal that people had been throwing rocks at rally cars in this same area.

This information was immediately relayed to Rally HQ just as the third car was starting the stage

In view of the prior confirmed actions, namely the placing of rocks and boulders on the road, the human obstruction of Car 00 and the fencing across the road encountered by Car 0, plus the rock-throwing intention advised to the security marshal, when the Clerk of Course received the report that rocks were actually being thrown, an immediate and urgent decision was required. The Clerk of Course had no choice but to cancel the stage as she was not prepared to put any person at risk.

It should be noted that on day 3, rock-throwing did occur and a car was damaged as a result.

Additionally, there was another attempt to block a stage during the rally which was foiled by the rapid action of one of the 0 Car crews. This attempt could also have resulted in serious injuries to crew members. Details of this attempt were provided to the police at the time. However, the organisers do not intend to make public the attempted method employed.

The organisers stress that they have no reason to believe that any of the above activities, some of which were dangerous and risked damage and injury, were carried out by the No Rally group and have never accused the No Rally group of involvement.

In all cases the police acted immediately in assisting the organisers.

Dr Phillips explained the process put in place for the rally -

”Firstly, in the months prior to the rally we thoroughly inspected the entire competition route and noted all potential habitats for koalas, lyrebirds and any other threatened species. With the organisers we assembled a team of people and a plan to install various measures as outlined in our final reports of July 2009.

“On the morning of each day of the rally two teams each comprising three ecologists surveyed the entire competition course prior to the running of the first car.

“Accompanied by a team of hard-working volunteer officials we installed a total of more than seven kilometres of temporary animal fencing and placed almost 40 monitors in strategic locations along each stage, while pollution booms and sediment traps were also installed at all key water crossings and streams. Special guardians were also placed where koalas were located in trees alongside the road during our pre-rally survey.

“Following the passage of the last car in the rally, the environmental teams again inspected the stage and recorded any injured or killed animals that had not been present in the pre-event inspection.

“This was one of the most thorough operations that has been undertaken anywhere in the world.

“The most pleasing aspect was the results were far better than anyone would have expected. We only found a small number of killed animals which, quite frankly, is arguably less than you would normally expect to find on these roads. We put this down to the gradual build-up of rally activity over the morning of each day of the event.

“Importantly, there was no evidence of any animal having been killed in the small areas of National Park traversed by the rally.

“All-up for the 344 kms of rally activity we recorded a total of two lizards, four snakes, nine birds and a single mammal, which was much less than expected for this number of competing vehicles.

“Most importantly, no threatened fauna, including koalas, were killed or injured.

“Despite claims made to the contrary in the weeks leading up to the rally, the results validate the conclusions reached in our July reports that the rally would have no significant impact on threatened species.”

However, Dr Phillips said it was important to also look at the bigger picture.

“Increased levels of road kill will invariably be associated with any large spectator event where people are travelling to and from particular areas,” he said.

“That means there must also be a broader area of engagement by Local and State Government levels with this issue than that which might otherwise be singularly associated with a rally event.”

Dr Phillips has started to actively solicit information from interested community groups and individuals with a view to getting further information on road kill over the rally period.

“It will always be difficult to partition such data in terms of what may be directly attributable to increased vehicle movements and what might otherwise have occurred in due course, but we will be working towards a suite of recommendations that will have application to other similar spectator events throughout the region,” Dr Phillips said.

Reports on the road kill issue and the efficacy of ameliorative measures that were utilised for the rally will be forwarded to Federal and State Government conservation agencies and the Kyogle and Tweed Shire Councils over the next few weeks.

It was certainly not without its challenges but these challenges were addressed successfully through the outstanding work done by all of you – our volunteer officials, our staff, our contractors – and also through the unprecedented co-operation and support of government agencies, both state and local.

We know that the hours you worked were extraordinary, in very trying conditions and, in some cases, quite stressful and distressing situations, but you all shone through! We have already started receiving a deluge of compliments on the way those involved in the organisation conducted themselves.

One example is the Ford Team Manager, John Millington, who has asked me to pass on to you all that the Ford team (including the drivers and co-drivers) commented that for the whole event “we had not one single error” by officials.

We know there are many aspects that need to be improved. This was our first attempt at recruiting and registering officials via the internet and it was not without its problems. This was also our first event in a new location. We had officials who had not worked together before and we had unprecedented issues in dealing with a very small but vocal anti-rally group. We will learn from it and from the other feedback we have already received.

As part of that feedback process, every registered official will be receiving a Debrief Form which will give you a structured opportunity to tell us your suggestions for improving the way you are integrated into the event organisation (registration, training, placement etc) as well as your comments on other aspects of the rally. These Debrief Forms are critical to ensure we eliminate any problems that arose this year due to our new location and with so many new team members.

You will also be receiving a research form on behalf of Events New South Wales to determine the economic impact of the event on the region. We want you to respond to this and record every dollar you have spent in relation to the rally – at the event itself, in your training and planning, and after the event, especially if you (or your friends) stayed on for a holiday. All money spent in NSW is counted!

Most importantly, as Chairman of the Organising Committee, I wish to express my sincere appreciation and congratulations to you all. Your performances well exceeded our expectations and you should all be very proud.

Michelle Gatton, your Clerk of Course, will be thanking you separately but I do want to make a special mention of Michelle’s role and congratulate her on her performance at her first WRC event. Michelle is only one of three lady Clerks of Course in the history of the WRC and I also believe she is the youngest-ever WRC Clerk of Course. With the support of her two Deputies, Errol Bailey and Peter Macneall, a very experienced group of Assistant Clerks of Course and all the members of the Sporting Council, Stage Commanders and Team Leaders, the sporting operations of the event went extremely well – and will, no doubt, improve the second time around!

I also want to pay tribute to our hard-working (though small) group of staff and contractors under the leadership of General Manager, Gary Upson, and also the staff of CAMS who came to support us.

It was a great honour to be the Chairman of the Organising Committee and to work with such a dedicated and committed team. Thank you again – your performance was superb.

With kindest regards
Garry Connelly
Chairman, Organising Committee
Repco Rally Australia 2009

“It was an extremely successful weekend. The overwhelming support of the community was extremely gratifying and we have been getting excellent reports from local businesses about how well they did,” Mr Evans said.

“We wanted the people of Tweed and Kyogle, plus visitors from elsewhere in New South Wales, interstate and overseas to see the World Rally cars and they turned out in big numbers. There were well over 4000 people in the CTEK West Special Stage on Saturday and the atmosphere was fantastic.

“It was also amazing how many private residences along the rally route were having front-yard parties to watch the cars go by. We have no way of knowing what those numbers were, but they would certainly add significantly to the total and from what we understand in many cases the visitors came from outside the region.”

Mr Evans congratulated the teams and drivers from more than 15 countries and the more than 1000 volunteer officials plus staff for staging the biggest sports event the region has seen.

“It’s been a magnificent event. Rally Australia will be back in 2011 and it will be an even better event,” he said.

ENDS

Click here to download Stewards Decision.

Loeb had been declared the winner, but tonight the stewards imposed a one-minute penalty on the time of the 1# Citroen after finding it had front suspension parts that did not comply with the homologation records for the car.

They imposed the same penalty on the Citroen C4 WRCs of teammate Dani Sordo and Citroen Junior team driver Sebastien Ogier after the team verified they also had the same parts, described as front anti-roll bar links that were longer and required additional notches.

The Citroen team did not appeal the decision.

The decision had the effect of reversing the original 1-2 finishing positions and, instead of Hirvonen leading Loeb by one point in the Drivers’ standing, he now has a five-point break with just two rounds remaining in the 2009 FIA WRC.

Sordo remains in third, but Ogier surrendered fourth place to Hirvonen’s BP Ford Abu Dhabi teammate Jari-Matti Latvala.

REPCO RALLY AUSTRALIA – REVISED RESULTS
1. Mikko Hirvonen, Ford 2h:53m:06.5s
2. Sebastien Loeb, Citroen +47.5 sec.
3. Dani Sordo, Citroen +1:04.6
4. Jari-Matti Latvala, Ford +1:52.0
5. Sebastien Ogier, Citroen +2:23.3
6. Matthew Wilson, Ford +5:38.8s
7. Henning Solberg, Ford +7:30.3s
8. Federico Villagra, Ford +7:51.9s
9. Hayden Paddon, Mitsubishi +15:48.6s
10. Martin Prokop, Mitsubishi +15:57.2s

WRC CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Hirvonen 78
Loeb 73
Sordo 50
Latvala 36
H. Solberg 29
P. Solberg 25
Wilson 23
Ogier 20
Villagra 15
Rautenbach 8

P-WRC
1. Martin Prokop, Mitsubishi 3h:08m:51.2s
2. Richard Mason, Subaru +42.2s
3. Cody Crocker (AUS), Subaru +53.1s
4. Armindo Araujo, Mitsubishi +4:08.1s
5. Stewart Taylor, Mitsubishi +5:39.2s