Round 2 of the NSW Rally championship kicks off in Canberra this weekend. A quick dart around the spectator friendly lakeside Super Special Stage gets the event going on the Friday night.
The always challenging gravel stages surrounding the nation’s capital await for the state’s best rally teams on the Saturday, and the event is the first rally which is pacenoted in this year’s championship.
After an eighth place finish at round one, the New England Rally, Charlie Drake is looking to get a better haul of points in Canberra on notes where he is more comfortable.
“The first round was a mixed rally for us, we were happy with the finish, but a bit frustrated we finished a bit further back than what we would have liked.
“I’m not a huge fan of blind rallies, and that event has some of the best roads in the country, so commitment was rewarded with good stage times.
“This year’s NSW state championship has 6 rounds with the best 4 counting, there are three noted events being Canberra, Batemans Bay and Rally Australia, so I’m hoping to pick up good points on those remaining noted rounds and see where we are come the end of the year,” Drake said.
Round 2 of the 2016 Gary’s Motorsport Tyres NSW Championship has attracted the quickest teams from all over NSW and the ACT. The entry list is one of the strongest fields in many years, with the 4WD turbo cars leading the way, along with two very quick guys in 2WD cars.
"The entry list for the state section of the National Capital Rally is pretty awesome. Look at the entry, pick a winner out of Nathan Quinn, Mick Harding, Mick Patton, Chris Giddins, Andrew Penny, Tom Clarke, Tony Sullens, Tim Wilkins, JJ Hatton, Mal Keough, Chris Higgs etc,” Drake added.
“It's going to be a sprint from stage 1. We had a good run at the North Shore Rallysprint last Sunday, so I’m looking forward to getting onto the longer stages and getting some more competitive distance in the new car.
“It’s been four years since I have done a full rally in a 4WD, so hopefully it wont take too long to get back some speed.”
Sitting beside Charlie for the remaining rounds of the NSW state championship is West Australian Lee Tierney. Lee has plenty of high speed experience, having being a winning co-driver along side Tom Wilde and Mark Pedder.
“It will be good to have Lee in the car, he’s not shy in giving the driver a hurry up and I need that sometimes in the faster stuff. I think we will work well in the car together.”
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