Darren Windus took another step closer to defending his Victorian Rally Championship with victory at the MRF Tyres Akademos Rally on October 16, ahead of Glen Raymond (Subaru).
Darren Windus took victory in the Akademos Rally. (Photo: Craig OBrien)In a season plagued by cancellations and wet weather, a field of 45 crews set out under clear skies from the picturesque Alexandra township to take on three stages, repeated twice, for a total competitive distance of 100km.
Following the sale of one of the team’s Subarus, Windus opted to lease Irishman Charlie Drake's Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X for this round, with Bernie Webb calling the notes.
A change in manufacturer and co-driver did little to change the status quo of proceeding events, with Windus going fastest on the opening stage, four seconds clear of an impressive Glen Raymond, on his first competitive outing in a 4WD since winning Rally Victoria in 2010.
The Mackenzie brothers, Steven and Brent, were an impressive third in their G2 Fiesta and leading 2WD.
However, drama would soon follow with defending Akademos winners, Arron Windus/Joe Brick (broken differential), Andrew Pannam/Tim Batten (suspected blown turbo), and 2011 champions Warren Lee/David Lethlean (gearbox) all retiring.
The short liaisons between stages caused brake dramas for Darren Windus on SS2 when the brake pedal went to the floor, dropping the stage to Raymond, who also encountered his own problems with a fuel surge.
Benefiting from the issues of those in front was the Mackenzies who recorded a stage win on SS3.
Heading into heat two, a mere 12 seconds covered Raymond, Mackenzie and Windus, but the order would soon change when the front differential on Raymonds' car failed, leaving him to fight spectacularly in rear wheel drive.
Mackenzie too had problems when he dropped five minutes with a flat tyre, leaving Windus with enough margin to claim the win, despite his brake problems re-occurring on the final stage.
A faultless drive from Michael Conway/Jenny Cole in their Escort netted them the final step on the podium.
Tod Reed/William Murphy (Mitsubishi) were fourth in their only appearance for the year, Tony Moore/Simon Rowland (Ford) fifth, with Luke Sytema and Simon Evans (Ford) rounding out of the top six.
Aiming to clinch the Our Auto Rally Series for Hyundai Excels, series leader Stephen Eccles/Simon Pilepich were struck a cruel blow on SS3 when a brake component failed, sending them off the road.
Fortunately the crew escaped unharmed, but the same cannot be said for the car, which suffered significant damage. Luca Giacomin/Brett Williams eventually came out on top to win in a tight battle over Joel Perkins/Tom Brennan.
- Craig O'Brien
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