ARC title fighters prepare for Rally Australia

The East Coast Bullbars Australian Rally Championship’s title fighters enter this weekend’s Coates Hire Rally Australia fully aware that it is both the longest event in the series, but also the event where they desperately need to drive flat out to stay ahead of their rivals.
 

Eli Evans starts Australia’s round of the World Rally Championship with a slender eight-point margin over Molly Taylor, with Adrian Coppin a further thirty-two points adrift.
 
Even though the points gap appears to grow noticeably behind the dueling trio, mathematically even Simon Evans currently sixth in the title race, has a chance to raise the Championship trophy aloft depending on how things play out this weekend.
 
“One mistake this weekend, for any of the top drivers, could cost you a massive chunk of points and possibly the Championship,” said Eli. “Simon is still in with a shot, ok he has to win every Heat for the rest of the year, but anything is possible.”
 
“You’ve got to think about the endurance aspect of the event,” continued Eli. “But depending on what happens one driver could really pull away this weekend and stamp their name on the title.”
 
Molly Taylor said her focus is a lot more focused, all she wants to achieve is to beat Eli. “If I finish second behind Eli he still moves further away in the title race,” she said. “So while I’m going to be driving smart I also need to drive fast!”
 
Despite being behind on points Coppin is looking to put the positive form he showed at the end of Rally Queensland to good use, and after a strong test session on Monday he’s confident he can achieve a great result this weekend.
 
“I’m really happy, really looking forward to the rally starting,” Adrian commented. “It’s been a decent break between Qld and Coffs, but I’ve spent some good seat time keeping my eye in and I’m really positive about this event.”
 
Rally Australia’s stages have posed a tough test for the ECB ARC’s leading front-wheel drive contenders previously, with the fast roads combining with a high-grip surface to stress the Championship’s Kumho tyres.
 
“There was a bit of rain in the area last week, and based off what we experience at testing the roads will have a pretty high level of grip. Tyres are always a bit of an issue at Coffs, so it’s about managing pace to ensure you don’t run out of tyres before the weekend is over,” added Coppin.
 
Eli, who also found a strong setup in testing, said that his experience in the Citroen DS3 this season has him confident that he won’t suffer as many tyre wear issues as he’s experienced in the past.
 
“I think the Citroen is far kinder to its tyres than I had in the (Honda) Jazz previously. I’m able to use the torque from the turbo a lot more, which means the front tyres aren’t spinning up as much,” he explained.
 
Molly Taylor on the other hand has the Renault Clio that Scott Pedder steered to victory at last year’s Rally Australia, and with it sporting a brand new colour scheme this weekend she’s determined to put on a good show for her new sponsors.
 
“A big change with the look of the car, we welcome onboard Brian Hilton Renault, Sydney City Renault and Jayco. I can’t wait to really show off the new look to our fans and supporters this weekend, I think it looks amazing!” Molly said.
 
“It’s great to be back in the car after such a long break between Rally Queensland and Rally Australia – let the rally begin!” she added.
 
The ARMOR ALL & STP Power Stage kicks off proceedings for the two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive contenders on Thursday morning in the forests outside of Coffs Harbour.
 
Away from the outright action a fierce battle will also be unfolding amongst the cars of yesteryear with the Classic Rally Challenge. Heading into Rally Australia Queensland’s Clay Badenoch holds a commanding points lead, but with Neal Bates returning to the fray he’s fully expecting an event long battle.
 
The leading Toyota duo will be chased hard by an incredibly diverse field of competitors and their classic rally machinery including Brett Stephens in his Nissan Bluebird, Phillip Casper in his Ford Escort, Ivan Voevodin in his Mazda RX7 and Mal Keough in his incredible Audi Quattro replica amongst others.
 
Catch all of the Classic competitors, as well as the full WRC & ARC fields before the official start ceremony in the centre of Coffs Harbour itself on Thursday afternoon.

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