Sport
20 March, 2023
Rainbow rises for ARB480 event
Rainbow held their seventh ARB480 event over the weekend, welcoming over 60 cars, the crews and supporters to town for the opening round of the 2023 ARB Australian Off Road Racing Championship. The weekend has once again been hailed a big success...
Rainbow held their seventh ARB480 event over the weekend, welcoming over 60 cars, the crews and supporters to town for the opening round of the 2023 ARB Australian Off Road Racing Championship.
The weekend has once again been hailed a big success, with the involvement of hundreds of volunteers to cater for over 1000 spectators.
Drivers from most of the states of Australia participated in the Prologue lap on Saturday March 11, with 61 cars taking off on the one-lap decider for the main event staging.
The official count for the afternoon kick-off was 57 cars, which was reduced to 41 by Sunday morning, with only 19 cars crossing the finish line having completed all eight laps.
Greg Gartner and Jamie Jennings, in car #410, solidified their Kings of Rainbow title with another outright victory, and can now look forward to enjoying their head start going into round two at Hillston in early July.
Rainbow Rises Event Centre president Russell Eckermann said the occasion reignites the community.
“This event brings life back into the town, which will keep Rainbow high on the map,” he said.
“It helps people, provides a lot of entertainment, and the community really enjoyed it.”
Mr Eckermann said there was livestreaming from all around the track being shown at the main staging area so anyone could enjoy the race, and community members once again took up positions at checkpoints and recovery stages around the track.
“There were more than 1000 people sitting on the spectators bank,” he said.
“There were six to eight people with each of the 61 cars - including friends and family members - and there were also more than 100 officials and recovery teams around the track.”
A member of the Rainbow Rise committee shared the total food and drinks served by community organisations and volunteers over the weekend, in memory of Leonie Clarke.
Ms Clarke was a key part of the event each year, organising food and beverages, volunteers, and helping to keep the entire event running smoothly.
She is sorely missed, and the committee thanks all the hands who helped in various capacities over the weekend.
505 Bacon and Egg Sandwiches
400 Steak Sandwiches
590 Buckets of Chips (150 kilos of chips)
544 Coffee, Hot Chocolate, Tea
400 Donuts
480 Dim Sims
250 Hot Dogs
275 Chicken Nuggets
180 Hamburgers
100 Sandwiches
182 Zooper Doopers
93 Pieces of Slice
90 Sausages
620 Cans Softdrink
310 Bottles of Water