Brendan Reeves and Rhianon Gelsomino have completed a perfect weekend at the Lightforce Rally SA, winning both heats and taking outright victory.
The event, round 4 of the Kumho Tyre Australian Rally Championship (ARC), was held in the Mt. Crawford area of South Australia and entailed around 200 competitive kilometres over two days.
Coming into the event having won at their last two starts, Reeves and Gelsomino were keen to continue on their winning way and they did that convincingly, finishing this weekend with a hat-trick of wins.
After event organisers were forced to re-route the rally due to heavy rain in the days leading up to the start, Reeves drove a smart race on Saturday to win Heat 1 with a margin of over two minutes. This was despite an exhaust gasket leak which required work overnight.
In Heat 2 (today), he again dominated, winning five of the day’s six stages in his Subaru WRX, finishing with a gap of 32 seconds to Simon Evans/Ben Searcy (Subaru WRX).
“We started today with the same pace as yesterday and with the same goal - to win the heat and the rally,” Reeves said.
“I really enjoyed the roads today. The fast Shire roads really suit my driving style and the car, so when the organisers had to re-route the event and include more Shire roads, I was really happy!”
“The rally organisers should be congratulated for their efforts in providing a fantastic event despite all the difficulties they had with the weather. We had a ball,” he added.
Reeves and Gelsomino are not registered for ARC points but have now won both of the rounds they have contested this year. They are still hopeful of entering the final ARC round of the year, Kennards Hire Rally Australia which will be held in Coffs Harbour in November.
Lightforce Rally SA, Heat 2 results
1. Reeves/Gelsomino, Subaru WRX, 51:34.9;
2. Evans/Searcy, Subaru WRX, +00:32.0
3. Bates/McCarthy, Toyota Corolla S2000, +1:59.2
Photo: Peter Whitten
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