Robina based husband and wife team of Steve and Lorelle Tonna were the fourth Australians home at last weekend’s Repco Rally Australia, Round 10 of the FIA World Rally Championship, finishing in seventeenth place overall in their ASPnet Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V.
The event based in Kingscliff, just 20 minutes drive from the team’s base, traversed roads in the Tweed and Kyogle shires including a tarmac Super Special Stage around the streets of Murwillumbah, and drew a crowd in excess of 70,000.
Tonna was ecstatic to finish the event after breaking a drive shaft at the start of SS19 Urliup. Luckily Saturday’s midday service was to follow with a 30km liaison back to the service park. Later that day the car suffered a slipping clutch which worsened throughout the event.
With concerns surrounding the car completing the event, driver Steve Tonna said, “I had a stern word to the car and asked it to get us to the finish, and luckily our car came through with the goods.â€
With frequent surface changes and varying weather conditions over the course of the event, Co-driver Lorelle Tonna commented, “The early mornings brought some really slippery roads. Who would have thought the wooden bridges could fling you like a sling shot?â€
Steve and Lorelle would like to thank their sponsors ASPnet, StrataMax, Hinterland Smash Repairs, Cheesecake Motorsport Smash Repairs, Coast CV & Suspension, Grace Electronics, Chiptorque and their hard working service crew.
The ASPnet team will now undergo repairs to their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V before planning their assault on the 2010 Australian Rally Championship.