With the East Coast Bullbars Australian Rally Championship opening the rules up to both two and four-wheel drive cars competing for the outright title in 2016 Adrian Coppin recently confirmed that he’d tested Mark Pedder’s Maxi car as a possible path forward.
And at last weekend’s Narooma Rally, a round of the NSW State Championship, Coppin and co-driver Erin Kelly took another step down the possible four-wheel drive path when they campaigned Simon Evans’ former Championship winning Toyota Group N (P) Corolla.
“The opportunity came up to buy the Corolla at a good price and I thought it would be a good chance to get some four-wheel drive mileage and also have an option up my sleeve depending on what we end up doing next year,” explained Coppin of the Corolla’s acquisition.
“It’s actually the sixth and final Group N (P) Corolla built by Neal Bates Motorsport, and it was the car Simon Evans dominated the 2007 season in,” continued Adrian. “It then was driven by Ryan Smart, then it went to WA, and I brought it back to Canberra.”
Coppin, who started the Narooma event as the first car on the road, said that his limited exposure to four-wheel drive rallying certainly became evident as he slipped and slid on the loose, wet stages but that coming home fourth by the end of the event was a confidence booster.
“It was incredibly different to drive compared to the Citroen (DS3), and a huge learning curve for me having only driven it for the first time on the morning of the rally!” said Adrian.
“I started the event with no expectations other than to learn, and we went backwards from the first stage about as quickly as I expected to having never driven this car, or any other four-wheel drive on a rally before. But by the last stage I was really getting to grips and could see the improvements I was making.”
With the ECB ARC regulations allowing two and four-wheel drives to compete on level peggings next year Coppin is confident that his decision to learn the intricacies of four-wheel drive rallying will pay off.
“At this stage I have no idea what I might be driving next year, there is every chance I could stay in the Citroen for another year. Driving Mark Pedder’s Maxi car, buying this Corolla, it’s all part of keeping my options open so that come 2016 I can start the year confident and positive,” Adrian commented.
“My plan at the moment is to drive the Corolla in another couple of State Rallies, just to continue to build up that experience and then make a decision at the end of the year about which direction to head in.”
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