i30 takes on Scouts Rally SA

The team were extremely pleased with their results at the NSW round of the Australian Rally Championship, but remain realistic about the future challenges.

“Our first year in the ARC was always going to be a learning experience,” explained Team Driver Mick Gillett. “The car is new to us, and we are learning how to get the best out of it in these rally conditions.”

The objective for the team at each event is to complete all of the stages of each rally, allowing for maximum ‘seat time’ and learning opportunities. With this in mind, the crew have considered their tyre options carefully, and will be taking into account the local conditions again this weekend.

“South Australia will present us with different challenges from Coffs. This is a completely different type of event, with a couple of short tarmac stages included.” Gillett added. “We’ve also heard that the gravel surface is very smooth and fast, and we can’t rule out rain at the SA event, so the roads could get very slippery.”

Logistics for the South Australian event have taken some organising, however the car itself has not presented any such dramas.

“The i30 held up brilliantly after Coffs,” engineer and co-driver, Harvey Smith noted. “we’ve really only needed to perform our routine pre-event checks to prepare the car.”

The South Australian round of the Australian Rally Championship starts on Friday, 25 June, 2010, at Angaston.

Photo Neil Blackbourn

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