Carringtons Traffic Services Safari – Saturday October 13th
The 2012 WA Rally Championship will be decided next weekend in the toughest event of the season, the Carringtons Traffic Services Safari.
The event is the fifth and final round of the WARC and will be contested over 110 kilometres of demanding roads around Chidlow and Mundaring, less than an hour from Perth.
Busselton-based Subaru WRX driver Leigh Hynes, who sealed the 2011 WA 4WD Championship with a win in last year’s Safari rally, said it’s a ‘buzz’ just to finish the event.
Hynes is keen to show up rival Alex Stone, who also competes in a Subaru WRX and who leads the championship by 10 points.
Stone needs just a top five finish to claim the 2012 WA 4WD Championship title but acknowledges anything can happen on the rough and technical Safari course.
“There are plenty of trees and plenty of solid objects to create that sudden stop for you if you go off,” he said.
But that doesn’t mean Stone will take it easy: “I’m going to go out there and race like I would race for any other event.”
Organisers acknowledge that, while the roads have been graded, there are likely to be a few ruts due to recent rain so the event will be the ultimate test of drivers’ skills.
Other 4WD competitors vying for a solid finish in the 2012 championship are Doug Tostevin and John O’Dowd who are both also in Subaru WRXs.
Meanwhile in the 2WD drive competition, there’s fierce rivalry for the top spot between last year’s champion Kiel Douglas in a Holden Commodore and Dylan King in a Ford Escort.
King, who’s just turned 18, leads the Douglas by 10.5 points in the 2012 WA 2WD Championship.
Sean Keating, who was the highest place novice and 2WD Challenge winner in the last round, the Lewana Stages, is third on the 2WD leader board and an outside chance for the championship title.
The Carringtons Traffic Services Safari is also a Clubman event, the second last for the year. It’s run over 60 kilometres and without pacenotes.
Watch out for Matt Snaddon in a Toyota Corolla who’s won all but one event this year and Carl Rattenbury in a Ford Escort who won the last round.
The Clubman championship will be decided next month in the Clubman-only event, the Darling 200 around Jarrahdale.
The Carringtons Traffic Services Safari kicks off on Saturday October 13th at 1pm from the Childow Tavern on Thomas Street just off the Old Northam Road.
This year the rally has a new headquarters but the event is run on similar roads to last year and most of the stages will be familiar to the competitors.
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