The Lake Mountain Sprint “Tango” (LMST) is an 11 stage sprint held over the 10 kilometre tarmac access road between the Lake Mountain Ski Village and Marysville, around 90 minutes drive from Melbourne. The event will run over three days, from January 26-28, and is part of the new Mountain Motorsport Sprint Series. The Tango will be split into four stages each on Friday and Saturday and a final three on Sunday, including nine up and two downhill runs.
For Moscatt this is his first rally of the season but one that marks the coming together of several positive facets from 2006. His motorsport manager and Protecnica Racing boss, Scott Anderson, saw an opportunity emerge to run the very promotable duo when their calendars were free for the duration of the LMST event. Then, after a series of phone calls the STi Spec C Subaru, in which Cody Crocker and Moscatt won their 2005 Australian Rally Championship, became available.
The STi Spec C Subaru has undergone a conversion to Subaru Motorsport tarmac racing specifications and is well set up to tackle these mountain stages.
“What began as a few mates getting together to do a rally and have some fun, has now turned into a very competitive package,” Moscatt said.
“It’s funny how things fall into place sometimes. We were obviously stoked to find that Subaru did have a car available for us but I couldn’t be happier to find out that it has turned out to be the car which stacked the old trophy cabinet so well on our way to the 2005 title.
“She is a fast and reliable young lass (she’s not an old girl yet) and I can’t wait to jump back in there.”
In a career which spans over 150 rallies both here and overseas, this rally will be Moscatt‘s third event with Denyer. The 2005 Australian Rally Championship-winning co-driver was originally hired to partner Denyer in last year’s Targa West Rally with Team Mini, a friendship quickly formed and Moscatt believes Denyer has a promising future in rallying.
Moscatt began driving at the age of seven on his family’s property in the Riverina, before taking up go-karting eight years later. While only a relative newcomer to rallying, he has extensive experience in Formula V, GT Production, V8 Utes, Touring cars and more recently, V8 Supercars. In 2005 he was named V8 Rookie of the year and also awarded the title of CAMS Motorsport Personality of the Year for his contribution to all things motoring.
“Even though this is Grant’s first time in this specification of vehicle at rally speeds, I don’t think it will take him long to get used to it, and although Grant is also still quite new to pacenoting, he is learning fast. In Targa Tasmania last year he drove one day in the Mini he shared with Spencer Lowndes, he used Lowndes’ prepared notes and although unfamiliar with the roads (having not done reconnaissance) he was very quickly up to the speed of the other Mini drivers when he was behind the wheel,” Moscatt said. “Grant has learned a lot since then and this will only help further his development.”
“The main purpose of this event is for Grant and Dale to gain further experience together on pacenotes and also to allow Grant to try an All Wheel Drive vehicle in rally competition for the first time,” Anderson said.
“The Protecnica team will go through a systems check at Calder Park Raceway, then we are hoping to get Grant in the driver’s seat after that for a quick test before heading up to Lake Mountain closer to the event where the boys will begin work on their pacenotes”.
The duo would both like to earn a good result at the Lake Mountain Tango. This event is presently a one-off for the team but they are keen to show what both they as a crew and Protecnica Racing as a team are capable of.
“It is a good chance to showcase what we can do,” said Denyer. “There are no goals or expectations from Subaru to achieve a specific result. Scotty and Protecnica Racing always run a tight ship too so I think if we relax and concentrate on our roles in the car, I’m sure we’ll have some fun on our way to hopefully celebrating a strong finish.”
The rally kicks off early this Friday and the mix of fierce competition and copious amounts of horsepower will make for a great weekend of rallying! For spectator information or for further information on this event please go to: www.lakemountainsprint.com
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