A push towards bringing four-wheel-drive (4WD) cars back into contention for the overall East Coast Bullbars Australian Rally Championship (ARC) has boosted the field of interstate competitors set to contest the Quit Forest Rally this month.
Since 2012 the Australian 4WD Rally Series has been a second-tier category in the ARC however, the introduction of new regulations which allows ‘Maxi Cars’ to enter the competition, alongside the push for an open category Championship from 2016 has seen the strongest 4WD entry list in recent years.
South Australian Henry Nott finished second in the Australian 4WD Rally Series in 2014 and will be the top seed in the 4WD class of the Quit Forest Rally. He will be driving a brand new car, a Mitsubishi Evo9, and while it will be his first time contesting the event his fellow competitors believe he will be the one to beat out in the forest.
After a year away from the Championship in 2014, and two years behind the wheel of a 2WD Honda in 2012/2013, Mark Pedder will be the first to debut a Maxi Car in the Australian forest, when he unveils a Peugeot 208 in Western Australia.
Joined by 2014 champion co-driver Dale Moscatt, Pedder says the new regulations are a great way to boost interest in the ARC and that Maxi Cars will be an exciting addition to the forest for spectators.
“I haven’t actually seen the car yet, except in photos, but by all reports it should be as fast as the S2000’s and is a proper race car like the Honda was so while I’m sure it will take some getting used to it should be great to drive,” Pedder said. “The Peugeot has been designed and built to be a lot lighter than a traditional Group N car and should be quite spectacular in the forest as you can attack the roads a lot harder,” he continued.
Also hoping to contest the event is 2011 Australian Rally Champion Justin Dowel, who is waiting on approval from the Confederation of Australian Motorsport to run a brand new Dytko Hyundai i20.
The West Australian teams of Robert Webber/Toni Feaver and Brad Markovic/Glen Macneall will be looking to put in a strong performance against the interstate heavyweights.
“I will definitely be looking to see where we measure up against the likes of Pedder and Dowel and hopefully we can take it to them on a few stages,” Webber said. “We would hope to be running towards the front, but ultimately my aim is to finish the event after engine failure caused our retirement last year,” he added.
The 2015 Quit Forest Rally will be the 16th running of the event in the Busselton region. The event will be the opening round of the ECB Australian Rally Championship, as well as the opening rounds of the West Australian Rally Championship and the West Australian Clubman Cup and is set to attract the nation’s best rally, side-by-side and moto competitors.
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