Round one of Australian Rally Championship races through Canberra

Motorsport fans have lapped up the first round of the Australian Rally Championship held in the forests of Canberra over the weekend.

Transcript

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.