Competitors intending to tackle the 2024 Pooncarie Desert Dash will enjoy plenty of familiarity this year, with event organisers unlikely to make significant changes.
Serving as the Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship’s season opener, the Pooncarie Desert Dash will return for its third year on the national calendar after two strong years.
In 2023, crews completed 430 competitive kilometres spread over three sections after the Sunraysia Motorsport Club extended the course to 106 kilometres – a 16km upgrade from the year prior.
The club has since opted to make no further adjustments to the course this year, meaning crews who attended last year’s event won’t have to worry about learning a new route.
Like last year, the event will begin with Prologue on the Saturday morning before crews complete the first lap of the course in the afternoon, while Sunday’s action will be made up of sections two and three.
Clerk of Course Troy Bennett was pleased the event would remain the same due to last year’s success.
“The general consensus from last year was that people were happy with how the event ran, so there was no reason to make any significant changes at this point in time,” Bennett said.
“Of course, anything can happen between now and then but as it stands, the format, course and distance will all be the same as last year. I think this will prove beneficial for many crews.
“I guess the only significant change is that we have gone from being the second round to the season opener, which is a great result as we should attract a lot more people to the event.
“Opening the season is fantastic because teams and drivers will be looking for that fresh start, and being a centrally located event, I am confident we could get a big field.
“I am looking forward to welcoming the best crews in the country to the beautiful Wentworth Shire in April.”
Entries for the season opener will start being accepted at the publication of the Supplementary Regulations closer to April’s event.
The 2024 Pooncarie Desert Dash takes place in the Wentworth Shire on 19-21 April.
