WA-based Australian Safari in 2007

[Lyndall]

Interesting to see how WA's EventsCorp are planning to spend their time/money once Rally Australia is off their plate...

If Octagon own and run the Australian Safari, presumably EventsCorp are just tipping in a few (?!) dollars and not the full-time staff contingent that Rally Oz required being totally owned and managed by EventsCorp themselves.

Australia's own version of the Paris-Dakar off-road rally is go for next August

The gruelling Australian Safari will return to the local motorsport calendar in 2007 – its official.

The off-road rally raid will return next year after a two-year absence. It will be run over a 4500km course starting from Kununurra in the far north of Western Australia. The entire event will take place in WA.

Scheduled to run from August 17-25, 2007, the Safari’s provisional course will see the field of four-wheel drives, buggies and motorcycles visit the regional centres of Halls Creek, Broome, Port Hedland, Newman, Mount Magnet and Kalgoorlie before finishing in Perth.

Since its origins in 1985, the event has been likened to the Paris Dakar. It has attracted the likes of past world rally champion Andrew Cowan, Bathurst legend Peter Brock, 500 GP rider Daryl Beattie, five-time world 500cc motorcross champion Austrian Heinz Kinigadner, South African Alfie Cox and female Dakar competitor, Jutta Kleinschmidt.

The event is owned and run by marketing company, Octagon. The agreement with EventsCorp (a WA-government promotions body) will see the safari based in the state for three years.

Managing Director of event organiser Octagon, Sean Nicholls, says that as well as great support from local competitors he expects the 2007 event will once again boast entries from many international two and four-wheel contenders, with a particular focus on Asian markets.

“The event has always enjoyed great interest from Japanese motorcycle competitors,” says Nicholls.

“With a growing interest in off-road rallying in Asia, Octagon plans to promote the event heavily into markets such as China, Hong Kong, Singapore Thailand and Malaysia.”

Said Nicholls: “Octagon has spent the past two years searching for the right location to host the 20th anniversary edition of the Australian Safari. One location stood out above the rest and that was Western Australia.”

“Both EventsCorp and Octagon see the event as a great opportunity to showcase the entire state and encourage more visitors to the regions,” Nicholls continued.

Expressions of interest for 2007 entries are now open. For more information contact Octagon, tel (03) 9685 3500