Motorsport fans have lapped up the first round of the Australian Rally Championship held in the forests of Canberra over the weekend.
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00:00Australian motorsport is having a moment.
00:05Hot on the wheels of Melbourne's Formula 1 Grand Prix, round one of the Australian
00:11Rally Championship has raced through the beautiful, sometimes brutal, surrounds of Canberra.
00:19One of the leading drivers in this year's series has noticed a recent gear shift.
00:23If you look at Formula 1, I think drive to survive has had a big influence on how popular
00:27that's been in the last recent years, but I think rallying and motorsport in general
00:31in Australia is really starting to get the interest of a lot of people.
00:36There's a lot more drifting and dust compared to F1, but for a co-driver in the hot seat,
00:41it's all about composure in the middle of mayhem.
00:44You've got trees losing class, you're going sideways, the rocks are flying, it's noisy,
00:48it's hot.
00:49A whole lot is happening, but in the middle of that, I'm following a road and following
00:54notes and calling, and so you just go into a zone.
00:57Coral Taylor has won multiple championships and competed at the elite world level.
01:02She says Australia is blessed with a great array of racing landscapes, but in pure numbers,
01:07the European scene is next level.
01:10Rally to them is like football is to many Australians, and I'm 40 down because I don't
01:14follow any football, but I've been too consumed by cars.
01:18Those dedicated to the sport are optimistic that the current motor mania can bring a new
01:22generation of fans.
01:23The people are the ones that help promote it, so seeing so many people out on the stages
01:28today and cheering us on, and then here at the service park as well, I think it's vital
01:32for the sport to keep building that momentum.
01:35A momentum that rally organisers hope will drive the sport to thrive, not just survive.