Eighteen-year-old Dylan King will head into round three of the WA Rally Championship (WARC), the Experts Cup Rally around Collie and the Wellington Dam on Saturday June 22, full of confidence.
The Subaru WRX driver, who last year took out the two-wheel-drive championship, has an eight-point lead on the 2013 Outright competition and has shown that consistency is the key to his success.
King finished second in both heats of round one, the Quit Forest Rally (QFR). He also finished second in round two, the Trade Hire Donnelly Rally, and was rapt with his performance.
“We had a good go and took some time out of Leigh (Hynes),” the rally prodigy said.
King aims to again be a top contender and said he looked forward to the Experts Cup Rally: “The Collie roads are fast, which I enjoy.”
Hynes, who sits in second place on the WARC leader board after winning the Donnelly Rally by over 40 seconds, said the main focus in his preparation for the event was his WRX’s gearbox.
Gear selection issues have hampered his car’s performance since the start of the year but Hynes believed they would be sorted in time for the Experts Cup Rally.
Unfortunately Alex Stone said his car won’t be ready for the event. The 2012 WARC champion driver also missed the Donnelly Rally and knows his title defence is in deep trouble.
His WRX suffered major structural damage when it hit a concrete barrier in QFR and repairs are progressing slower than expected.
“We’re still trying to get the best method of repair for time versus cost,” Stone said.
Meanwhile, Doug Tostevin, who missed the Donnelly Rally, will be back in action in his WRX and keen for a good result to back up his sixth placing at QFR.
John O’Dowd, who’s third on the points table after finishing third in the Donnelly, should again set solid times.
In the two-wheel-drive competition, a tough battle is again expected to ensue between Sean Keating, who claimed the victory at the Donnelly Rally in his Nissan Silvia, and Razvan Vlad who was the overall 2WD winner at QFR in his Ford Fiesta. Vlad sits just behind Keating on the leader board.
Kiel Douglas, who missed the first two WARC rounds with business commitments, said he’ll be back and is to join the battle for the championship.
"We’ve made a few improvements to the car and I’m itching to try them out,” Douglas said.
In the Clubman Cup, Steve Vass will again be the man to beat. Competing in a Datsun 1600, Vass is 28 points clear of his nearest rival Nathan Pearce in a Toyota Corolla.
Andy van Kann, also competing in a Corolla, and Carl Rattenbury in a Ford Escort are expected to be in top form at the Experts Cup Rally as well.
The Experts Cup Rally will be run over almost 160 competitive kilometres of roads around the Collie forests and Wellington Dam. The Clubman Cup series covers nearly 85 competitive kilometres.
The event kicks off from the Wallsend Grounds in Collie at 1.30pm on Saturday June 22.
Photo by Andrew Kilburn
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