'It’s been a phenomenal year for King, 19, who after winning the WA 2WD Championship last year, recruited experienced co-driver Lee Tierney and made the move to the Outright competition in a Subaru WRX.
'The pair has proved a consistent force all year notching up a series of solid results including WARC victory at the Quit Forest Rally (QFR) and second place at both the LRT Lewana Stages and the Trade Hire Donnelly Rally.
'“It’s been a perfect first year,” King said.
'In Saturday’s CTS Safari Rally around Chidlow, the young gun claimed five out of nine fastest stage times.
King said his car performed well up until the end of the event: “The engine took a bit of a knock on the last stage and the clutch was slipping.”
“Basically we had to just get it to the end really.”
Second place in the CTS Safari Rally went to Gavin Morgan (Wanneroo) and Chris Parish (WRX) while Leigh Hynes (Busselton) and Stuart Percival (Maylands), whose WRX suffered a broken gear shifter, finished third and claimed the 2013 WARC honours.
Causalities in the challenging event included John Macara (Pickering Brook) who had been providing strong competition early in the day but went out when his Mitsubishi Evo 7 developed engine problems; and Alex Stone (Mahogany Creek), competing in his first event since QFR, who rolled his WRX on the first stage.
In the 2WD competition, Razvan Vlad (Padbury) claimed the win in his Ford Fiesta and now has an unassailable lead on the Championship.
Vlad said it wasn’t an easy win: “It was probably the hardest-fought victory that I ever got.”
His main rival Sean Keating (Ellenbrook) trailed by just seven seconds heading into the second last stage but was forced out when his Nissan Silvia suffered a broken tie rod and left the road.
In the Clubman Cup, Mark Travers (Bunbury), who had competed in the CTS Safari Rally twice before but never finished, got to taste victory.
Travers, in a Toyota Sprinter, enjoyed a tight battle with Nick King (Glen Forrest) who was second in a Ford Escort. Stephen Mackinlay (Eaton), competing for the first time this year, was third in a Mirage Asti.
Travers said: “It was very rough out there but luckily we dodged everything.”
Not so lucky was Championship leader Steve Vass (Thornlie) whose Datsun 1600 left the road on stage four. Jason Lowther (Australind) in a Toyota Corolla suffered the same fate on the same stage.
The sixth and final round for 2WD and Clubman Cup competitors is the Darling 200 around Jarrahdale on Saturday November 16.
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