Round four of the NSW Rally Championship, the Kumho Rally of the Bay has announced a new date following its postponement due to torrential rain in late June.

The new dates for the Kumho Rally of the Bay is Saturday19th October making it the final round of the 2013 NSW Rally Championship.

The South Coast holiday mecca of Batemans Bay saw a classic east coast low inundate the region for most of the week leading up to the originally scheduled date on 29th June, giving the organisers no option but to postpone the event to avoid extensive road damage and to prevent unnecessary risk to competitors cars.

Rally manager Colin Fletcher said the new date will allow additional promotion and offers some real advantages with warmer weather and more daylight.

"No one ever likes to postpone a rally but we really had no choice considering the huge amount of water which fell during the week leading up to our first scheduled date," said Col Fletcher.

"The silver lining to this cloud is that we have targeted a great weekend in October, which with daylight saving means that virtually the entire rally will be run in daylight on some of the best rally roads in the country which will be in even better shape come October," he said.

The first cars are expected to cross the finish at rally headquarters at the Bay Waters Resort at approximately 5:30 pm ahead of the podium presentation.

"We still plan to have our annual rally dinner on the Friday night at Bay Waters Resort, the rally will continue to be a round of the NSW Rally Championship, the NSW Clubman Series, the ACT Regional rally series and will now be the final of the Webstor East Coast Classic Rally Challenge," Colin added.

As well as Saturday's festivities there is the annual Rally of the Bay dinner on Friday night 18th October at the Bay Waters Resort.

For the small price of just $45 a delicious two course meal at Eastwell Restaurant will be complimented by tales of triumph, heartache and shenanigans from three legends of Australian Rally: four times Australian Rally Champion Neal Bates, former Hyundai and Holden factory team driver Wayne Bell and rally larrikin Ed Mulligan. Tickets are still available from the Bay Waters Resort by calling 4472 6333.

"Ed Mulligan has christened the night the Good, the Bad and the Ugly but he won't say which character he will be playing on the night," adds Colin.

Organisers of the Kumho Rally of the Bay were successful in obtaining a significant NSW sports and recreation grant through the office of communities because of the event's positive impact and on going commitment to the Batemans Bay area.

An estimated $750,000 is injected into the Batemans Bay and surrounding regions' economy by the Rally of the Bay in the week leading up to the event through accommodation, hospitality and services for the 160 competitors and their families, 200 officials and organisers as well as the media, sponsors and spectators. All up the event brings more than 1000 people to Batemans Bay.

Colin Fletcher says the Rally of the Bay is the premier event on the rally calendar because of the combination of a great location, friendly community and excellent rally roads.

"South Coast Forest has some of the best rally stages in country because of the medium to fast paced roads through the hardwood forests with flowing bends and ridges," he said.

"Drivers love the challenge of the forests but enjoy their time outside the forests enjoying the beautiful Batemans Bay surrounds and outgoing hospitality from the locals.

"It's this perfect mix that makes the Rally of the Bay the highlight of the year for officials and drivers," he added.

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