Two-time Bathurst 1000 winner Tony Longhurst, driving a Les Walkden Rallying-prepared Subaru Impreza WRX STI, is in fourth place after two days of Rally Tasmania.
Longhurst has spent two days battling with local hot shot, Jamie Vandenberg, for third place, but had to give way to the Mitsubishi driver over today’s eight special stages.
“We’ve had a reasonable day, but our tyres have been too hard for the conditions,†Longhurst admitted.
“We’ll reassess things tonight and see if we can make some inroads into Vandenberg’s lead tomorrow. He’s driven really well though, and is right on his game.â€
Today’s stages took competitors south west of Burnie to the famed Savage River stages. Longhurst had been hoping for damp conditions in his four-wheel drive Subaru, but they never eventuated.
The high-powered Porsche 911 of Jim Richards, and Nissan GTR of Tony Quinn, set the pace, leaving Longhurst and Vandenberg to battle it out for third place.
“We’re only 12 seconds behind Jamie, so we’re by no means giving up,†the Gold Coast driver said. “The LWR Subaru has been fantastic today – the best it’s ever been – so I’m confident of being able to push for a podium finish tomorrow.
Rally Tasmania continues tomorrow with a further eight stages which make up another 62 competitive kilometres.
2009 Rally Tasmania – results after day two
1. Tony Quinn / Naomi Tillett, Nissan GTR, 1h08m00.5s
2. Jim Richards / Barry Oliver, Porsche 911 GT2, +1.9s
3. Jamie Vandenberg / Simon Vandenberg, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, +56.5s
4. Tony Longhurst / Linda Long, Subaru Impreza WRX STIm +1:08.4s
5. Tony Alford / Kelly Handley, Nissan GTR, +2:39.8s
For full details and live results from Rally Tasmania, visit www.rallytasmania.com.au
SUBSCRIBE BELOW TO READ THE FULL STORY
