The Classic Outback Trial 2022
NEW DATES: March 27 - April 2 2022
The COT has been rescheduled to run in March 2022.
The 2018 ERCA Classic Outback Trial and Tour was a resounding success and a great experience for all of us who participated.
ERCA members have once again been invited to compete in the 2020 Classic Outback Trial. The organisers have committed to putting together another fantastic regularity competition for our club and entries are now open. Basic details are:
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Where: Parkes, Orange & Bathurst in NSW
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When: Sunday 27 March 2022, The event runs for 7 days until Saturday 2 April 2022
We have secured a special price of $5,000 for the regularity event which is a $1,500 discount off the normal price!
Our 2018 ERCA COTT featured a Touring Drive starting out in Melbourne, and finishing in Sydney. In 2022 we are planning to do things a little differently - with a Monte Carlo Style Run to the start. This means a number of starting points will be nominated around Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, etc), with the opportunity to meet up along each route until we finally converge at the starting location of Parkes in NSW. The new itinerary for our Monte Carlo event is:
Victorian Entrants
Day 1 - Wednesday 23 March 2022, Melbourne to Metung, Approx. 4 hours and 290 kms
Day 2 - Thursday 24 March 2022, Metung to Canberra, Approx. 6 hours and 433 kms
Day 3 - Friday 25 March 2022, Canberra to Parkes, Approx 4 hours and 300 kms
**PLEASE NOTE - YOU MUST BOOK YOUR OWN ACCOMMODATION, DETAILS BELOW.**
DAY 1 - Wednesday 23 March 2022, Melbourne to Metung
We will be leaving Melbourne on Wednesday morning for an easy 4-hour drive to the lovely little town of Metung set on the Gippsland Lakes. If we get there early enough there are plenty of attractions to check out. We recommended accommodation at the Metung Waters Motel and Apartments (https://metungwaters.com.au/) and we will be having dinner at the Metung Hotel.
Day 2 - Thursday 24 March, Metung to Canberra
On Thursday our route takes us through Buchan, into NSW, and onto the Alpine town of Jindabyne - which is a logical place to stop for lunch. The roads through this part of Australia are fantastic driving and should give us some great views.
From Jindabyne, it's about 2 and a half hours further to Canberra where the plan is to meet up with ERCA members from NSW and Qld for dinner. The recommended hotels to book in Canberra for the night of Thursday 19th August are:
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Burbury Hotel - to book CLICK HERE
We will also book dinner for our group closer to the event
Day 3 - Friday 25 March, Canberra to Parkes
Today we leave Canberra and head to the starting point of the 2022 Classic Outback Trial - Parkes NSW. There are a few different options for our drive and we may look for a scenic route. However, we will need to get our cars scrutineered before the event start so we need to leave enough time for this.
**If you have entered the COT or are planning to enter and would like to join our ERCA Monte Carlo Run, please advise us ASAP to help with our planning by CLICKING HERE**
Other States
We are not yet sure of the number of competitors from other states. If there are several cars traveling to the COT from specific areas or states we suggest traveling together. And of course, we welcome all ERCA members and families to join us in Canberra on March 24th for our get-together dinner, even if you are not competing in the COT.
COT Accommodation
All ERCA competitors must book their own accommodation for the COT. If you had previously booked accommodation for the March event - don't forget to update your bookings. If you haven't booked, we recommend you book as soon as possible as tourism in regional areas has become very popular and accommodation is getting harder to find.
The COT website provides links to accommodation in each town that the rally will be staying in - CLICK HERE to view. You are welcome to book any accommodation you would like however it would be great to be together as a group if possible. To that end, we have nominated the following hotels in each town for our ERCA group to stay in.
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Parkes: Friday 25th March - Tuesday 29th March, Court Street Motel - CLICK HERE TO BOOK
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Orange: Tuesday 29th March - Thursday 31st March, The Oriana - CLICK HERE TO BOOK
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Bathurst: Thursday 31st March - Sunday 3rd April, Rydges Mount Panorama Bathurst, - We recommend calling Rydges direct ASAP. They have limited rooms available at a special COT price of $199 per night. Their phone number is: 02 6338 1888
COT Regularity Update
The COT organisers have posted a great information document that provides a detailed overview of the COT Regularity Competition. We mentioned this document in our last newsletter, but if you haven't read it, it's really worth a look through. You can access the document by CLICKING HERE.
Further Information
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If you would like any further information please check the COT Website - CLICK HERE
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Or contact ERCA: admin@erca.com.au
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Or Phone: Paul Kirkham 0402 235 289, Rhys Timms 0419 008 031
Because of the NEW Dates for this event, we would like to ask our ERCA Members to please let us know if you are intending to participate, and if you would like to join in the pre-event Monte Carlo Rally style run.
To see who has expressed interest or entered the COT Regularity event Click Here.
To Register Your Expression of Interest please email: rhys.timms@gmail.com OR paulgkirkham@gmail.com
You can enter the COT Regularity Event directly by Clicking Here
