Four-time Australian rally champions Neal Bates and Coral Taylor head to this weekend's Rally SA full of confidence after storming back into classic title contention with a dominant display at Rally Queensland in May.

Bates and co-driver Taylor won 17 of 18 stages at the event on the Sunshine Coast in their fully restored 1980 Toyota Celica RA40 to earn maximum points following a non-finish at the second round in Perth.

The duo now sits 30 points behind series leaders Jeff David and Grant Geelan in the Australian Classic Rally Challenge, which runs as part of the 2012 Australian Rally Championship.

Toyota Ambassador Bates said he was "jumping out of his skin" to compete in Rally SA, which takes in roads of the Barossa, Mount Crawford and Murrayland regions.

"It's been a while since Rally Queensland and I can't wait to get to South Australia and compete in what is traditionally a very fast, exciting event," he said.

"There are some new sections this year but I think the Celica will be really well suited to them, just like it has been on all the events this year.

"The car has been absolutely brilliant to drive and run."

Bates' and Taylor's RA40 was built from a bare shell over an 18-month period. It includes a fully worked Toyota 3SGE Series 1 twin-cam 2.0-litre in-line four engine mated to an Australian-made five-speed Hollinger gearbox.

The RA40 is a replica of the model the late Ove Andersson and Henry Liddon drove in the World Rally Championship during the early 1980s.

Taylor said she was looking forward to competing on Rally SA's new stages while turning up the heat on David and Geelan in the battle for the title.

"We had a lot of fun in Queensland and it's going to be just as exciting in SA with some new roads to tackle," she said.

"It's also going to be a great battle with Jeff and Grant in their Porsche."

Rally SA runs from July 27 to 29.

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