As the Australian Rally Championship (ARC) returns to South Australia for the 2013 Scouts Rally SA, the field will see two Ford Innate Motorsport entries thrown into the mix as Adrian Coppin and Molly Taylor join the fray with two Ford Fiesta R2s entered in the 1600 Cup and Manufacturers title.
Renowned as the fastest event in the ARC calendar, Scouts Rally SA uses extremely fast sections of shire and forest road as well as some connecting tight and technical sections. The event is centred on Adelaide but competition takes place in the Mt Crawford area of the Adelaide Hills.
As an autumn event is southern Australia, weather can often play a role in the outcome. An exceptionally dry beginning to autumn saw the Adelaide Hills ablaze only weeks ago but a recent wintery blast dropped temperatures and 30mm of rain in the Mt Crawford area in the last few days. This means that the stages should be in perfect shape and stage times will be really fast.
Ford Innate Motorsport is looking forward to returning to South Australia, having competed in the event last year, where they finished 4th in the 2WD category. But the team isn’t expecting the same success this year, with a much stronger 2WD field, following the decision to make 2WD the premier category in the ARC from this year forward. And the team is competing in the 1600 Cup which they are leading.
Adrian Coppin said:
“Our goal will be to finish both heats and maximise the points score for Ford in the manufacturer’s title. And it will be fantastic to have Molly Taylor in the team to also help us score points for Ford. We haven’t had two cars competing for Ford at a round of the ARC so far this year, so we are looking for some good finishes and to take a health bag of points away from the event.
Personally, I am also looking forward to having Molly compete because I want to measure my performance against a peer in an identical car. At this stage no one else is running a Ford Fiesta R2 in the ARC and it is pointless looking at your times against the outright G2 cars, so by the end of the weekend I will have a really good idea about how well I am driving.
And rest assured I will be driving as hard as I can, because there is an unwritten rule in motorsport about beating your team mate!”
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