The first Off Road club formed in Western Australia was the WA Beach Buggy Association (WABBA),  in 1970. The club was initially established to cater for Beach Buggy enthusiasts who wanted to go on "runs" together. Soon after, these runs turned into fully fledged race meetings.

The spectacular Lancelin dunes were the setting for the 1973 West Australian Beach Buggy Association Championships.  This was the first Championship and was designed for buggies and four-wheel-drives only

The sport in Western Australia developed independent of the eastern states and in a different direction.

In 1979 the WABBA took out a lease on a property in Wanneroo but their premier event was held in the sand hills of Lancelin.

All sand, all buggies and with the imposing title of Australian Buggy Championships WA established a line up of beach buggy-only events. A full weekend of competition preceded the major event and included sand drags, gymkhanas, teams events and fun for spectators and competitors alike. These were the first off road carnivals, and in many ways set the pace for Tasmania's Sand Enduro and Victoria's Portland Enduro. In their second year of competition, the WABBA had more than doubled entries.

The first competition single seaters in Australia debuted in Western Australia when the WABBA bucked CAMS requirements for a long course event and turned on an "enduro" using short course loops. Until its demise the WABBA remained un-affiliated with CAMS.  The WABBA had four Classes:

Challenger
Full sized race car with a wide range of restrictions to keep down the cost down.

Motor Bike Powered
As the indicates, must be powered by a motorbike engine.

Super 1600
Frame design and engine modifications are open, save that the engine capacity is restricted 1600cc

Unlimited
Engine capacity free all the way to 5000cc.

In the mid 1970s the Sandgroper Buggy Club staged the WA State titles using a three kilometre sand dune circuit at Lancelin, which included drags, hill climbs, a four hour night enduro (Australia's first night race) and the State titles the following day.

WA brought forth yet another of the innovators with a rotary engine powered Suzuki 4WD racer built by Tony Baxter of Rotomotion Conversions in Perth for Harry McClymer.  The diminutive lightweight Suzuki boasted a power output of more than 200bhp from a 12A motor that revved to 12,500 rpm.

The Western Australian Off Road Racing Racing Association (WAORRA) was formed in 1978 and operated in tandem with the WABBA and the Sandgropers Buggy Club.

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