It was a good weekend for Australian in China, with Chris Atkinson and Dale Moscatt (Volkswagen Golf) winning the opening round of the Chinese Rally Championship held at Deng Feng in Central China, near Zhengzhou.
Chris Atkinson and Dale Moscatt celebrate their victory in Round 1 of the Chinese Rally Championship.Fellow Aussies, Eli Evans and Glen Weston, won the 2WD category in a Citroen DS3 R3T.
“We’re very happy to start our CRC campaign this year with a win here in Deng Feng Rally China,”. Moscatt said.
“Our team boss was also the first Chinese driver home to secure maximum points for our team. We now have a new chassis coming for the next event,so it's a bit sad to say goodbye to this beautiful car that has given me seven wins from seven starts - thanks for the memories.”
Evans had a more challenging event, but a stirring driving on the final day netted him the 2WD award.
“We won 2WD even after losing nine minutes with some poor driving in rough conditions. (Hit rock after losing control of car in rough section, damaged rear wheel and jammed on caliper),” Evans reported.
“Setting times inside top 10 against 133 entries. Extremely rough and tight rally! One section of stage had five hairpins in a row.... ended up 16th outright, fighting back from 29th outright at end of Saturday.
“Also chased down a 4m20s gap on last day to win 2WD! Cool place with cool people. Cant wait for Round 2 in five weeks where the faster open roads will suit the little DS3 R3t!”