The final round of the 2014 Hankook Tyres Queensland Rally Championship is set for a head to head battle between current points leader Ian Menzies, in a Mitsubishi Evo VI, and Mattt Van Tuinen in a Subaru Impreza WRX.
Currently sitting in second place, Van Tuinen’s last visit to the forests of Imbil for the International Rally of Queensland saw him suffer a mechanical DNF and he came away from the event with no points at all. He and co-driver Erin Kelly are both looking forward to a much better result this time around.
Menzies has only a three point lead heading into the event so this year’s championship may not be decided until the final stage.
Menzies will be first on the stage which will give Van Tuinen a chance to keep an eye on his rival’s times.
“I know we'll have a good car thanks to Tim Erwin,” Van Tuinen said. “We've rebuilt the engine for this event, we have a great crew and great support from MPS Website Consulting.”
Rally organisers, the Brisbane Sporting Car Club, and the small community of Imbil will once again see the influx of numerous rally teams, officials and volunteers, as they head to the picturesque Mary Valley. Over forty teams are set to compete in the final round of the series on Saturday, November 22, clearly justifying all the hard work that has gone into preparing for this event.
This round, which will be called the KCF Rallysport Forest Finale, will be run through the tight and twisting roads of the beautiful Imbil State Forest. This will be a ‘blind event’ run over 120 kilometres of competitive stages, including four night stages, providing a feast of rallying action for competitors and spectators alike.
"Best combination of roads used for an event based out of Imbil I have seen for a long time, bloody brilliant" was the words from the event checker.”
The rally headquarters and service park will be at the centrally located Imbil Showgrounds with catering and camping facilities nearby.
With much of South East Queensland experiencing an extreme dry spell, the conditions will be very dusty unless much needed rain falls during the week. It is expected that this rally will be very tough on all concerned - drivers, navigators, vehicles and officials - but nonetheless, it will be a fitting finale to a great year of rallying in Queensland.
Photo: Alan McIntosh Photography
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