New enduro chance for Aussie riders

Would you like to compete in an event for enduro bikes where you navigate your way and go fast on twisty mountain forest roads?

The Mitta Mountain Rally has been running for eight years for cars but struggles to get a full field of 60 due to its distance from Melbourne.

Its creator, Ross Runnalls, a former cross-country rally motorcycle competitor at Condobolin and the Australian Safari, thought ‘Why not add bikes?’

There are only two Dakar like cross country rallies in Australia (Condobolin and Sunraysia Safari), so here is a close and cheap opportunity to give this format a go in a one-day event on 29 March based out of Mitta Mitta in northeast Victoria.

Bikes will follow cars and remain separate on five closed road stages of 14 to 42 km in length, with no repeats totalling 125 km. The closed sections are linked with 110 km of non-competitive roads.

The course is not arrowed, so navigation is necessary, but it is nowhere near as difficult as Dakar.

A bike equipped with a road book reader that handles route instructions on a paper roll would be handy, but the organisers plan an alternative basic ‘one page per stage’ road book in a clear plastic case that can be attached to handlebars or fuel tank and swapped over at controls.

Supplementary Regulations and the entry process for the Mitta Mountain Rally can be viewed on Ridernet. Entries close on Friday 21 March.

Entry fee is $300, which includes the hire of the Rallysafe unit for the day. Besides providing timing, tracking, and vital information for organisers if a competitor stops on a stage, these units also tell competitors if someone is about to overtake them and have a dual distance display and clock.

The Rallysafe tracking and timing system requires each bike to have a Rallysafe wiring loom, knuckle mount, and antenna.  Purchase details are available HERE.

While accommodation is limited in the Mitta Valley, there is a caravan and camping park adjacent to the Rally base, and opportunities to camp there on the adjacent golf course.

The Mitta Mountain Rally for cars has been popular not only for the challenging mountain course, but also for the Mitta Recreation Reserve base for the event, and the presentation dinner at the Mitta Pub afterwards. So, we hope you can join in the fun.