“ The car is now at the workshop of Neal Bates Motorsport in Canberra, where the car will be stripped down and the roll cage and body work repaired,” Ryan said. “I am so disappointed about what happened at Rally SA, it has taken so much hard work just to get here, and to damage the car so badly now is devastating. Thankfully, due to our good results in the first three events we are still placed third in the championship with two rounds to go.”
There was one positive from the weekend, Ryan and Rebecca posted the second fastest time in the Pedders “No Bull” Top Ten shoot-out, only 1.5 seconds behind Scott Pedder/John Mortimer. Ryan and Rebecca have donated their $300 prize money to the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation.
The Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (OCRF) is a special charity for Ryan and Rebecca as their mother Vicki is currently battling the disease. Ovarian Cancer, or cancer of the ovaries is one of the most common cancers affecting women and is often detected in the advanced stage of the disease, resulting in a high mortality rate. This is because the symptoms of ovarian cancer are not recognised immediately. Once diagnosed, treatment will usually include surgery and chemotherapy, depending on the stage of the cancer diagnosis.
One goal of the OCRF is to improve the mortality rate and long-term survival rates for ovarian cancer. This may be achieved by the development of an early detection program – which is the focus of much of the ovarian cancer fundraising activities of OCRF – and by raising community awareness.
It is important that the car is repaired and ready for the International Rally of Queensland, as the team is providing two rides to people who join with Smart Motorsport and help to raise money for OCRF.
“We wanted to try and get as many people to donate as we can so that an early detection test can be found. We thought a great incentive would be to offer people who raise money with us a ride in the rally car!” Rebecca commented. “ We will be giving away two rides, one to the person who joins our team and has the most donations under their name, and another to a randomly drawn person from the fundraising team.”
To win you need to join our team at www.everydayhero.com.au/smartmotorsport and click on “Join the Team” Then just enter the password “smartmotorsport”. Once you are a member of the team get as many people to donate to you on the www.everydayhero.com.au/smartmotorsport page.
If you’re not going to be in Queensland for the International Rally of Queensland you can still show you support buy clicking the “donate now” button on the website!
Ryan and Rebecca would like to thank their family, Yandina Automotive, Neal Bates Motorsport, Speedie Contractors, Simon and Margot Knowles, Geoff Foreshaw Motorsport Services, Fuchs oils and Husaberg Australia.
For more information on Ovarian Cancer and the OCRF go to their website www.ocrf.com.au
Follow the progress of Ryan and Rebecca by becoming a fan of Smart Motorsport on Facebook.
The International Rally of Queensland will be held on the Sunshine Coast on July 30 – August 1, for more information go to www.rallyofqueensland.com.au
Current ARC Driver Championship Standings after Scouts Rally SA
1. Simon Evans, 294 points;
2. Scott Pedder, 230 points;
3. Ryan Smart, 157 points;
4. Steven Shepheard, 142 points;
5. Nathan Quinn, 138 points.
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