For Classic competitor Clay Badenoch the long trip across the country to the Quit Forest Rally holds a mixture of excitement and trepidation.
It will be the Queenslanders first time competing on Western Australia’s unique ball-bearing gravel, and he’s been doing his homework to prepare. “I’ve been watching a lot of old videos, trying to get a feel for what to expect,” he explained.
“I’ve never competed in WA before, but I do have some idea of what the roads are like having visited the old Rally Australia. I know it’s going to be tough though, and very, very slippery – it’s exciting and scary all at the same time!” Clay added.
Having stepped up to a Toyota Celica RA40 last season, similar to the car driven to three consecutive Classic titles by Neal Bates, Clay hopes that starting down the running order in eighteenth will help.
“Running midway down the order I’m really hoping we’ll get more of a swept line. I’m not counting on it, but I’m hoping,” he laughed. “It’s always a handful in a rear-wheel drive car, that’s the fun part, but throw in the slippery surface and you know you’re going to have your hands full all weekend.”
“The Forest Rally is the one round I’ve never contested though, so when we started looking at the calendar for this year I knew it was something I had to do. All the drivers always rave about the event, it’s been on my list for a while, so it’s exciting to finally have that chance to drive those roads.”
Over the off-season Badenoch has brought his Celica inline with Bates’, the team fitting a brand new Neal Bates Motorsport developed engine. “When we built the car we ran a bit of an unknown engine and it lasted two events. Then we finished the year with an engine cobbled together with bits of Neal’s engine before it threw a cam belt in Victoria.”
“So the Forest Rally will be the first time the cars have been identical. It also means I have no excuses anymore, I have the same equipment as a former Australian Champion!”
“I’m not going over there with big expectations though, I’m just there to do my best,” said Clay. “I’ve been so busy with work and family that I’ve literally driven the car twenty kilometres since Rally Australia last year. Our plan is to do a full day test in WA to get back in the groove.”
Clay will be joined in the car once again by fellow Queenslander Andrew Dunbar, the pair having worked together since Coffs Harbour in 2013. “Andrew has been a big help to me since I’ve been in the ARC, and we’ve worked really well together since 2013,” he explained.
“We’re both a bit green, so the biggest challenge is that everything is happening faster in the new car. We’ve been on this big learning curve together and I think our aim for this year is just to continue to build our skills and confidence.”
“I think we’re both just counting down the days until we get over to WA and get back into the car – we can’t wait!”
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