Testing for this weekend's Pedders Eureka Rush took place on Friday, with the ARC frontrunners and WRC star, Hayden Paddon, all taking part.
Australian Rally Championship leader, Harry Bates, suffered an early setback when he slid into a tree in his Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia Yaris AP4 early in the morning.
While the damage was a little more than superficial, ripping the inner guard away from the chassis, the Toyota team quickly had the car repaired and ready to go again.
Fine weather greeted crews, although early morning fog and a cold breeze ensured that the roads remained damp and slippery until mid afternoon.
Harry Bates had a minor slip-up in testing. Photo: Peter Whitten
Hayden Paddon completed around six runs of a six kilometre stage in the Hyundai i20 R5 owned by the Walkem family, and came away happy with the car's set up.
Showing no ill effects from his Rally Finland testing crash, Paddon thrilled those on hand to watch the Hyundai in action.
Reconnaissance for the rally takes place tomorrow, before two tarmac super special stages tomorrow afternoon in Ballarat.
The event's four gravel stages will be held twice each on Sunday, with showers and a top temperature of nine degrees forecast.
The event is the fourth round of the Australian Rally Championship, and also a qualifying round of the Asia Pacific and Victorian championships.
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