$265,000 grant for Rally Australia.

The Lotteries Commission has made a $265,000 grant to assist with the staging of the 2001 Telstra Rally Australia.

Kevin Campbell, Chairman of the Commission, announced the grant at the International Year of the Volunteer Vision Conference Dinner.

"The money will go to the West Australian Event Services Association which facilitate the funding for the 2,000 volunteer officials who provide the emergency and safety services for the Rally," said Campbell.

"It's anticipated that the grant will help provide insurance, training and uniforms for the volunteer officials working on this year's event. It will also contribute to the hire of ambulances, emergency safety equipment, and many other logistics required to produce a rally of world-class standard."

Campbell also said that the ongoing success of Telstra Rally Australia may be attributed to the massive behind-the-scenes effort made by many Western Australians.

"Telstra Rally Australia has been named "Rally of the Year" by the world championship teams three times - including the last two years," he enthused. "There really can be no higher accolade to the successful staging of a sport than to receive such praises as "world's best" by the teams that compete every round of the world championship held in all five continents. The 2000 volunteer officials that work tirelessly on the event can certainly take a lot of that credit."

"This year, many volunteer officials will be up as early as 3am to take their positions for the day - some visible, many out of sight - but all working together to deliver another successful and safely run rally," he added.

Don McGrath, Executive Director of Telstra Rally Australia, welcomed Lotteries support of Western Australia's major international sporting event.

"This funding will help to ensure the world spotlight continues to shine on Perth and that Telstra Rally Australia brings enormous benefits to Western Australia," said Mr McGrath

"Since 1988, Telstra Rally Australia has generated a massive economic impact of close to $180 million for the State, and in 2001 another $20 million is expected to be added to that total."

All the spills, thrills and excitement of the event is also expected to be watched by more than 50,000 spectators and a world-wide television audience of 40 million viewers.

The 2001 Telstra Rally Australia will be the penultimate round of the 14 round FIA World Rally Championship and will be held in and around Perth from 1 - 4 November.