A trip to Western Australia has paid off for the team from Queanbeyan, as FroSport Internationale now leads the points for the East Coast Bullbars Australian Rally Championship Classic Rally Challenge.
After having been an official, a spectator and service crew at previous QUIT Forest Rallies, team driver Fro Horobin was ecstatic to finally be a competitor on the roads around Busselton and Nannup. After the disappointment of not finishing the first round, the car had a few upgrades before the trip west.
Horobin said, "We upgraded the differential and driveshafts after National Capital Rally, but also went and saw Neal (Bates) and the guys at V-Sport Canberra. They helped us solve some braking issues we were having. We wanted to be as prepared as we could be, and Neal gave us some very handy tips for those WA roads."
However the Friday morning media rides at the Busselton Toyota Super Special Stage highlighted a couple of minor glitches, including dragging front brakes. Thankfully there was plenty of time for service chief and automotive ninja, Matt Searle, to remedy the situation and get the Datsun back into top form.
Fro and young navigator, Nick Ryan, contested the event against Mark Beard and Jim Gleeson in their Subway-backed Datsun 1200. Joining the fray was also the Dazda of John Ludlam and Mike Wood, who provided a good yardstick for much of the event. The ball-bearing roads were testing for the team, but a steady pace allowed for a good safety margin to ensure they made it to the finish in one piece with only a couple of 'moments'.
"The guys from RallySchool.com.au and Platinum Automotives offered to help us out if we needed, but thankfully we only called on their assistance for catering and good company! We love the support that we had from everyone in the service park; it was great to feel such a fantastic atmosphere as a competitor."
As well as taking first Classic and maximum points away from QUIT Forest Rally, Nick and Fro were surprised when they were presented with the Trenching Systems Australia Classic Spirit Award. "We were concentrating on having a good time, so it was great that we could provide a bit of entertainment as well!" Horobin said.
After the success of 2013 QUIT Forest Rally, the team heads to Scouts RallySA where they will see the front-running Classics of Neal Bates and Jeff David return. Joining them will be locals like Nev Whittenbury in his Datsun 180B, and Barry Lowe in the immensely powerful Commodore.
"No doubt the battle for the Classics will be tight with a great field expected for Scouts RallySA, but with the help of Total Traction Services and PCD Engineering, we'll be much better prepared than last time and ready to show our real speed."
Scouts RallySA takes place Friday 24 to Sunday 26 May.
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