Heat 1 saw the team finish in 9th outright for the ARC registered crews, after a cautious start round the Angaston Super Special stage. “After seeing the difficulties some crews had at Angaston, I decided to play safe and wait for the gravel roads” said Bruce. “The Barossa shire roads are so good that we wanted to make sure we could enjoy them.”
Consistent driving saw the crew well on song, improving significantly on their 2009 times over the same stages.
At the final stage of the day an exhaust manifold leak developed, giving the Full-On Rallysport service crew of Rob Reddiex and Richard Harris the challenge of changing the gasket and servicing the car in the 90 minute end of heat service. A great job ensured the crew were on their way to Angaston in time.
For Heat 2, the team improved further with more competitive stage times, finishing 8th ARC registered crew. “This Heat had some of our favourite stages” said Bruce “and we managed to get some excellent times on Honeysuckle and Charleston Plus. The event has been challenging, with rain during Saturday, but we’ve come through with good times and an undamaged car.”
On further analysis by the team, the crew closed the gap significantly on the faster drivers in front, with a big improvement from the Dakin Coffs Coast Rally.
“We haven’t finished higher than 12th at this event before” said co-driver Hugh Reardon-Smith “so two top 10 finishes is very pleasing. We started the weekend well with 7th in the Pedders Top 10 Shootout and we’ve finished well.”
Next event for the team is the International Rally of Queensland – an event they have had to miss for the past 2 years. Being their home event another solid result is aimed for.