WRC Rally Australia (Coffs Harbour)

Rally Australia is the Australian round of the World Rally Championship (WRC), a series where cars race against the clock on public roads closed for the event. Until 2018 it was held around Coffs Harbour, on the coast of New South Wales, and it was often the last race of the season.

The rally was first run in 1988 near Perth, in Western Australia, and joined the WRC in 1989. It later moved to eastern Australia. Drivers raced along forest gravel roads, and fans loved the jumps and fast sections. Perth's event was the largest annual international event held in that city.

From Perth to Coffs Harbour

For many years the rally was based in Perth, where cars flew over jumps in the Bannister Forest and drove on a road covered in tiny, smooth round stones that felt like ball bearings. Teams voted Rally Australia the "Rally of the Year" in 1995, 1999 and 2000.

After a break, the rally came back in 2009 in northern New South Wales and moved to Coffs Harbour from 2011. It became a yearly event again from 2013.

What happened next

The last WRC rally in Coffs Harbour was in 2018. By August 2019 the event had no contract to stay in the championship beyond that year, so the toy globe remembers it as it was in the 2010s.

Protests and a move

When the rally came back to New South Wales in 2009, a special law passed by the state parliament made it easier to approve. Many local people thought a motor race did not fit the Northern Rivers area, which is known for ecotourism, and there were protests. Two stages were abandoned after rocks were allegedly put on the road. In 2010 the Australian motorsport body moved the rally to Coffs Harbour, which Rally Australia's chairman said was the first time a leg of the World Rally Championship had moved because of residents' concerns. The 2019 rally was cancelled because of bushfires.

On the globe

The model shows the Coffs Harbour rally stages, with red gravel roads through eucalyptus forest. Watch the rally cars, and look for the jump and water splash.