The Honda Jazz of Mark Pedder and Claire Ryan secured second outright two-wheel drive in the 2012 Bosch Australian Rally Championship at this weekend’s Rally Victoria.

The win makes it 1-2 for Honda and Evans Motorsport, with teammates Eli Evans and Glen Weston securing first place in the two-wheel drive championship at the previous round of the Bosch ARC in Coffs Harbour.

 “Second for the weekend and second for the championship is a fantastic result,” Pedder said. “The team, Honda and the cars have been fantastic.”

Rally Victoria started with Heat One on Friday, where Pedder and Ryan come out on top. This secured them second outright for the two-wheel drive category. Heat Two also saw the duo place well all day however they missed out on the heat win by one point, pipped by teammates Evans and Weston.

Ryan said; “I feel wonderful for winning second in the championship but a little disappointed we missed out on the win of the event by one point. That’s rallying and these things happen. If anyone had to beat us, I’m glad it was Eli and Glen.”

Evans and Weston again demonstrated their consistency and focus, winning yet another rally to cap off what has been an amazing year. “I’m a bit shocked I guess, to win this rally was a surprise,” Evans said. “I honestly didn’t think it was possible to win it, as we had a flat tyre early on. But we stuck to our plan, played with a few things early and tried to drive as fast as we could. Consistency is the winning formula.”

Weston added; “I’m in a bit of a daze really. It’s sad the season has finished because we’ve had such a good time with great competition. After we got the flat tyre yesterday, we decided to go as fast as we could and see what we could do with the car. We were able to do that for the whole heat and got lucky and in front again.”

Next year, the ARC will be two-wheel drive, meaning the Hondas are in a great position. The team is excited. “We want to be number one again,” said Weston. “It will be much harder next year as there will be more depth in the field, with new cars and new crews. We’ll have to work hard in the off-season to stay ahead.”

Pedder added; “I was really lucky to be able to drive the Jazz this year and get a head start on everyone for next year. 2013 will be great!”

Evans is looking forward to the challenge. “This is the year I had to win, because I had more experience. Next year is the one I really want to win.”

All agree that competition in 2013 is going to be strong. “Rallying has never looked so promising,” Evans remarked. “Mark and Claire have improved consistently, which is crucial for next year. We want to be 1-2 again.”


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