Three times Australian Rally Champion, Eli Evans, will return to the 2017 Australian Rally Championship in a new car to be run by the Evans Motorsport Team.
Evans Motorsport Director, Peter Evans, announced earlier this week that he will build a brand new MINI Cooper AP4 rally car to support the new and exciting ARC regulations.
A new AP4 Mini is under construction in New Zealand for multiple ARC champ Eli Evans.“The ARC’s new set of rules has huge potential so the decision was easy. The hardest part was deciding on what is the best car to build to give us every chance for the title,” Evans said.
Team manager Jesse Robison added: “We have been discussing which car we thought was best suited to the new AP4 rules. The team wanted a car that is light, fast and easy to work on and the MINI Cooper was at the top of the list.
“The styling also stood out as we loved the retro look, so I think our MINI Cooper will really stand out from the other competitors.”
Eli Evans is looking forward to rejoining the ARC in 2017, after competing in selected rounds of the Chinese Rally Championship this year.
“I’m extremely excited for the 2017 season! Being back with my family team is great as we have a lot of fun together,” Evans said.
“It’s going to be a huge challenge getting back in a 4WD rally car, but that’s what I’m looking forward to most of all. Glen (Weston) and I had great success in the 2WD formula with a record of 12 straight wins in 2012 and 2013, and at one point we had won 16 of 20 rallies that we had entered.
“Fingers crossed, the skill set I have learnt in driving a front-wheel drive rally car to its limit will aid us in chasing the success that I want now that I’m in 4WD.
“I also plan to extract as much knowledge as I can from my big brother Simon. He knows a couple of things about driving a 4WD and is extremely good at getting the most out of a rally car.”
Currently the MINI Cooper AP4 car is under construction at the Force Motorsport workshop in New Zealand, with plans to have it landed in Australia early next year.
The MINI Cooper AP4 car will then find its home at Evans Motorsport to complete construction before the first round of the championship, the Eureka Rally, on March 17th–19th in the Victorian town of Ballarat.
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