The first diesel rally car to tackle the modern Australian Rally Championship has brought the team home with a swag of awards at their first event.
The crew of Mick Gillett and Harvey Smith drove a consistent rally to finish first in the Showroom Class, Eco-Challenge and the 2 Wheel Drive championship, and a highly credible top ten outright.
Driver Mick Gillett was beaming with pride “We’re so pleased with how the car has performed over
the weekend. It has proven itself to be strong and reliable, and has brought us home with this
fantastic result for the team and Hyundai Motor Company.”
The Coffs Harbour roads proved challenging for many competitors over the weekend, but the i30
continued to power through needing only fuel and tyre checks at each service. The car was a true
performer in the fuel economy stakes as well; using approximately 20% of the fuel consumed by the
turbo all wheel drive cars at the front of the field.
“To be able to drive a car at full throttle for most of the weekend, and still only use such a small
amount of fuel shows the economy of these cars, even in standard road going form” stated co-driver,
and chief engineer, Harvey Smith. In fact, the only problem the team had over the weekend with fuel
was getting petrol for the generator when all the rest of the team cars were running on diesel.
"The car has performed so reliably throughout this rally that the team has only minimal work to do in
preparation for the next rally in South Australia. “We really only need to was the dust off and do
some minor servicing before we leave for the next event,” said driver, Gillett.
The next Australian Rally Championship event takes place in the Mt Crawford region of South
Australia from 25 – 27 June, and will see the i30 diesel out to gain some more valuable championship points.
Photo: Neil Blackbourn
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