SAAB have a rich heritage in rallying commencing their involvement in the 50's and continuing through the late 70's with great success in the 99. The success of the late 70's model SAAB’s with the ‘real’ Stig (Blomqvist) at the wheel inspired long-time SAAB mechanic Ross Perry to rebuild his daughter's first car into a rally icon!
“I always had a dream of building a rally car, and due to my working life revolving around SAAB's it only seemed natural that I'd turn my hands to build a SAAB 99 for the dirt. My daughter was very excited as the car I decided to base this dream on was her first car. Now her partner is going to jump into his usual seat alongside QRC regular Kent Lawrence. Kent and Steve have been at the front of the QRC for a few years in the Lancer Evo, but as it is still in my workshop it was a great opportunity for Kent to debut the SAAB. Personally I am hoping for a strong finish and as always I will endeavour to give him a car up to the task.” Ross commented.
Kent Lawrence said, "Driving the SAAB 99 will be very different to my Evo VI, but having the chance to run against some of Australia's fastest drivers in the ARC classics will be an experience in itself. My aim will be to drive consistently over the two days giving it all that I have and hopefully getting a finish will mean a good result. It's an honour that Ross is giving me the car for the weekend to debut, along with the honour though comes great responsibility - to NOT hurt his pride and joy!
"The last couple of years have been a challenging time for Steve and I as we have consistently run at the top of the game, but we have had some bad luck, but with that we've had plenty of good luck so I'm not complaining. I am excited about the upcoming International Rally of Queensland and can't wait for SS1 when we will see what the SAAB can do!"
T2 Racing team mates Mike Bailey and Caitlin Earley will also be competing at the International Rally of Queensland in their BP Ultimate backed Mitsubishi Lancer. Mike and Caitlin kicked off 2010 focussing on the ARC and enjoyed mixed success in their first year, following this up with a few outings in 2011, this year they are set to compete again in the ARC with BP Ultimate providing backing to help the team.Ahead of the forthcoming International Rally of Queensland, Mike Bailey commented, "For me it's about the experience of driving on Australia's best rally roads and improving rally after rally. The upcoming International Rally of Queensland will be very exciting in a number of ways for the team, not only is BP getting right behind us and the sport as the control fuel which is fantastic, but we'll also be hosting a big "name" driver who will be running our other BP Ultimate Mitsubishi Lancer for the weekend as a promotional attraction for fans and supporters - I can’t say more than that right now but watch out for an announcement closer to the event."
T2 Racing would like to thank all our supporters including, BP Ultimate, SAAB Care Motorsport, J & L Haulage, Atlas Metals, Z Car Racing - and everyone from the team that comes to help out; Ross Perry, Billy Spurway, Rod Bailey, Michael Oldano, Ian Reddiex, Lyndsay Perry and the extended crew!
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