Eli Evans and Matt McAdam have driven their Subaru Impreza WRX to victory in today's Mt Porepunkah Rallysprint, held just outside Bright in north eastern Victoria.
Driving his left-hand drive Impreza, Evans survived a couple of early spins to win the event by nearly a minute from the Datsun 260Z of another future star, Brendan Reeves, with co-driving sister, Rhianon Smyth, calling the pacenotes.
Another strong performance came from a third young driver, Brenton Kaitler, driving a Mitsubishi Mirage with Jenna Kelley in the left-hand seat. Kaitler's car showed good pace all day and came home with an impressive result.Â
Held in dry conditions, former Australian Rally Champion, Geoff Portman, took fourth place in a borrowed Datsun Stanza that he claimed was every bit as good as the car he won the 1981 Australian title in. He did, however, struggle with early brake problems with the car, but enjoyed his day's rallying as he prepares to contest this month's Rally of Melbourne in a Holden Commodore.
Matthew Fenner and Sue McCready finished fifth in their Lancer Evo 3, while yet another future star, Grant Heywood, took sixth place in a Datsun 1600. Heywood, in his first year of rallying, finished the final stage only two seconds slower than Portman, putting a smile on the apprentice motor mechanic's face.
In a day when young drivers showed their natural flair, second generation driver, Brendan Brown, finished seventh in a Datsun 180B, with the Proton of Wagga's Dean Price eighth.
Kylie Evans, sister of Eli, was ninth in her non-turbo Impreza RS, with Emma Cugley rounding out the top ten in her pretty pink Hyundai Lantra.
Only one car failed to finish the event, that being the Lancer Evo 1 of Scott Spedding, which withdrew from the rally after two stages with computer problems.
The event was directed by Ross Runnalls, on behalf of the North Eastern Car Club. It is expected to become an annual event.
Final Results:
1. Eli Evans / Matt McAdam, Subaru Impreza WRX, 25m44s
2. Brendan Reeves / Rhianon Smyth, Datsun 260Z, 26m40s
3. Brenton Kaitler / Jenna Kelley, Mitsubishi Mirage, 27m38s
4. Geoff Portman / Ian Koetsveldt, Datsun Stanza, 27m58s
5. Matthew Fenner / Sue McCready, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3, 28m16s
6. Grant Heywood / Ged Blum, Datsun 1600, 28m29s
7. Brendan Brown / Colin Worthy, Datsun 180B SSS, 29m40s
8. Dean Price / Greg Day, Proton Satria, 29m49s
9. Kylie Evans / Adam Wright, Subaru Impreza RS, 29m55s
10. Emma Cugley / Joanne Robison, Hyundai Excel, 30m54s
11. Geoffrey & Graham Legg-Stoker, Mitsubishi Lancer, 31m03s
12. Neville & Rosemary Bell, Datsun Stanza, 31m22s
13. Chris Sharpe / Adam Schmitt, Datsun 1600, 31m43s
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