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Having got their trademark bright yellow BNT Subaru safely shipped across the Tasman, the Masterton Flyers took the unusual step of shifting themselves to Australia ten days ago, so they had the best possible chance to unwind, relax and fully acclimatise to the summer-like temperatures, before taking on one of the longest and most arduous rounds of the WRC in recent history.
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"We had always planned to have a bit of a mid-winter break, but initially after Rally Australia," said Richard, "but after what happened at [Rally] Wairarapa and the resulting extra effort required to get the BNT Subaru back into tip-top condition, we decided to make best use of the enforced 'separation' from the car prior to the rally and come over a week earlier.
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"We've had a great time and with a good day testing the car at the official PWRC Test Session today [Monday], we can 'tick that box' and now focus fully on the next job of two full days of pace note writing in the Recce [Pre-rally Reconnaissance].
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"We understand that the roads to be used are very similar to what we have back home, although without the severe camber for which our roads are world famous, but they are predominantly fast and smooth - definitely not Car Breakers..
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"We always seem to go well on new stages, which speaks volumes for the quality and accuracy of the pace noting system Sara and I have developed. So with all that in mind, I think we should be able to put up a pretty good showing..,"
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"But, like most things, it's the preparation that determines the ultimate result, so right now it's total concentration on Recce and once the rest of the [BNT Mason Motorsport] Team arrive on Wednesday, we can head off to Scrutineering and then decide whether or not we need to do Shakedown on Thursday morning."
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WRC Rally Australia starts on Thursday night with a double pass of the Mirwillumbah Super Special stage, the cars running in groups of three starting fifteen seconds apart, which is sure to create a fantastic night-time spectacle.
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Public interest and ticket sales have been such that a fourth grandstand has had to be installed to cater for the demand from spectators to see the world's best rally drivers show their style for the first time on this side of Australia.
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The rally then re-starts early on Friday morning for three days of flat-out high-speed action on roads in northern New South Wales that have never been used for rallying before, so no-one will have any 'Home Town' local knowledge or previous experience to give them any advantage.
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The 10th round of the World Rally Championship concludes on Sunday afternoon after the running of a 'Live TV' 22 kilometre-long Special Stage - that will complete the 35 Stages in a total distance of a whopping 1,735 kilometres.