The Motor Sports Club of Tasmania have received an excellent entry of 22 cars for the opening round of the Tasmanian Rally Series, which will be run next Saturday, April 30.
Keith Abblitt / Adrian Hodgetts - Subaru WRXThe two heat, 10 stage rally is being run in the Retreat Forest area north-east of Launceston with the first car due to leave the Lebrina Hall at 9.00am and finish back at Archers Manor in Launceston at approximately 5.00pm.
The total competitive distance is 100 kilometres with the longest stage at 19 kilometres and the shortest at 2 kilometres.
Former state champion, Andrew Wylie, finished second in the series last year and will be looking to go one better in 2016 with his well prepared Subaru WRX STi, and he will have three-time state co-driving champion Damien Grimwood alongside to call the corners.
They will be the team to beat in the absence of last year’s champion Craig Brooks, but they will face some stiff opposition from the similar car of Keith Abblitt and Adrian Hodgetts, which won the Southern Safari event in last year’s title chase.
Andrew Wylie’s son, Kurt, put in some very strong performances last year in his Subaru WRX STi having made the transition from a two-wheel drive Datsun and could be a chance for a podium if the front runners have any issues.
Defending two-wheel drive champions Darren Clark and Keegan Buckley will be the team to beat in the very quick Mazda RX7, and based on their performances last year could well give the 4WD cars a run for their money.
Veteran competitor Peter Barrett will line up in his rapid Toyota Sprinter and should be up there with the Mazda, while at the same time mixing it with likes of former state champion Lee Peterson and rent a co-driver Daniel Willson in the much rallied Nissan Sunny.
Darren Clark / Keegan Buckley - RX7 Group B replicaA particular crowd favourite will be the booming V8 Commodore of the redoubtable Ben Sheldrick, with wife Bec alongside, and if the car runs the distance they could prove an upset in the 2WD class.
Bec was last year’s winning co-driver for the series with Craig Brooks and while it’s quite a shift from a 4WD Subaru to the V8 Commodore, she has previously spent time in the beast and knows what to expect
Others in the mix include Nathan Newton and former driving hot shot Kade Barrett as co-driver in Newton’s Datsun Skyline, as well as Andy Morris and Matt Bush in the Mazda RX7.
For only the second time in the series there will be an all female crew in the event, with Sara Rogers and Elise Wilson lining up in the Subaru RS previously campaigned by her father Brent.
Just to make it very much a family affair, Brent and wife Heather will compete in the ex-Simon Jansen Daihatsu DeTomaso, which has been lying idle for some time, and it should make for an interesting post event dinner conversation when they start to compare stage times.
There are a number of newcomers to the sport, which is very pleasing, and it includes Adrian Whiddon and Kevin Quigley in a Datsun Stanza.
Hopefully this pleasing number of entries for the opening round will continue into the remaining rounds and good fields will be the norm for the future.
The MSCT will also conduct the final round of the series later in the year, which is the traditional Mountain Stages Rally.
Photos: Angryman Photography
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