Following on from his impressive result in the treacherous conditions at Rally Calder the young driver pushed himself and the Innate Motorsport Fiesta to the limit on the fast flowing roads in the Sunshine Coast hinterland to finish just behind series leader and winner Eli Evans in the works Honda Jazz G2 rally car.
“I was ecstatic after Rally Calder but today has been the biggest win in my short career,” Coppin said.
The event started badly for the young driver when a wrong tyre choice cost him over two minutes to the leading competitors.
“My choice of tyres was all wrong given the weather and apart from being slow my confidence in the car suffered,” Coppin said. But a new set of soft compound Kumho tyres at the midday service break on Saturday saw Coppin begin the climb back up the scoreboard. By the overnight halt in Caloundra on Saturday, Coppin was well placed in the 2WD category.
A fresh day and drying roads saw the young drivers confidence continue to grow and he was soon setting competitive times in the 2wd category.
“I had a real go this afternoon and despite a few hair-raising moments as we pushed really hard over the last 3 stages, everything worked out well,” Adrian commented. “I backed myself and got the result and now that I know what I have to do and what it’s like to stand on the podium, I want more.”
After the team arrives back in Canberra, it will be full steam ahead to prepare the Fiesta for the next round of the BOSCH Australian Rally Championship, Scouts Rally SA to be held from July 27-29.
“I could only dream about a 3rd place in the 2WD category when I first drove the Fiesta in September in the Australian round of the world Rally Championship last year. If I roll the clock forward 9 months and I am sitting in 3rd place in the 2WD series at the midway point…. wow,” Coppin said.
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