In what could be the most intriguing battle at the upcoming Rally Victoria, a multitude of drivers are beginning to line up with a realistic shot at becoming the National 4WD Rally Series winner.
At the conclusion of the previous Round in Coffs Harbour a staggering fourteen drivers remain eligible for victory in the Subaru versus Mitsubishi battle, with drivers counting their best three results from the season to determine the final victor.
At the head of the points table, by just two points, sits Irishman Ritchie Dalton who has made appearance in Canberra and Coffs Harbour. Despite taking maximum points at the last Round Dalton admitted he was in a race against time.
“I’m saying yes, my entry is in, but there is a lot of hard work going on behind the scenes to get us there,” he said. “The car really took a beating over the jumps in Coffs Harbour, a real battering and there is a lot of money needed to get it back up to speed in time for Victoria.”
Dalton said the critical transfer case in his Mitsubishi Lancer received the most punishment in Coffs Harbour after an oil leak caused it to slip during the closing stages on Saturday and all of the Sunday stages.
“It was like driving with two bald tyres, very unpredictable! When I entered Coffs I really was going to have fun, I was never expecting to come away with the lead in the 4WD points and to be honest I hadn’t planned to go to Victoria either. But it’s a big deal fighting for a National title, so I’ll be there no matter what.”
Third in the points race sits Queensland’s Jay Davidson who contested Canberra and the International Rally of Queensland, only to sit out Coffs Harbour after misreading the regulations on points.
“I made a really silly mistake,” he admitted. “I didn’t realise when I read the rules that there were bonus points for Rally Australia. In hindsight if I’d competed I could have clinched the title already, but hindsight is a beautiful thing!”
Currently sitting fifteen points off second placed Henry Nott, Davidson is excited to be making the long haul from the Sunshine Coast down to Victoria for the season finale, but believes that the fight will be at the front.
“I really think it’ll come down to Ritchie and Henry, they would both have to have a pretty bad day for one of them to not be the Champion. But I’ll be there to keep them honest,” he laughed.
Gerald Schofield has already contested three Rounds this season, but after a disastrous outing in Queensland where he scored zero points he finds himself sitting fourth just five points behind Davidson.
“When I started the year I knew which events I wanted to do and my aim was to finish and get some good points. In the end we bombed one event, and that’s proven very costly,” Schofield explained.
“I love Rally Victoria, the roads are fantastic, I would have been there no matter what the state of the Championship was, so to still be involved is a bonus to me.”
The final Round of the 4WD National Series, as well as the finale of the East Coast Bullbars Australian Rally Championship, kicks off at Lardner Park near Warragul on the Eastern outskirts of Melbourne in a little over two weeks time (14th-15th November).
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