Stephen Maguire and Stuart Benson proved too good for their rivals in round two of the Tasmanian Rally Championship. Driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, the pair finish the 10 stage rally with a winning margin of 17 seconds, despite a five second time penalty. They had trailed the Subaru WRX of Brodie Reading for much of the rally, but came home with a wet sail to take the win. Nic Graves took the final place on the podium in his Subaru, but was over six and a half minutes behind second placed Reading. Craig Brooks and Steve Glenney had been on track to win the rally, winning the first heat. Driving a Subaru WRX used by Molly Taylor in last year's national championship, Brooks won several stages in the Mountain Stages Rally, but lost over 20 minutes on stage seven. He eventually retired from the event with electrical problems.

Brodie Reading continued his good form, finishing in second place. Photo: Angryman Photography

Eddie Maguire was also a casualty, retiring his Lancer Evo 9 with overheating problems after six stages. Benjamin Sheldrick was the first two-wheel drive car home, taking a brilliant fourth place in his Holden Commodore. He was just 11 seconds ahead of the second two-wheel drive, Nathan Newton in his unique Datsun Skyline. Newton now holds a commanding lead in the two-wheel drive championship. Crichton Lewis led home the Subaru RS Challenge field in his Impreza RS, taking sixth place.

The Subaru of Nic Grave took third place and a podium finish. Photo: Angryman Photography

Event sponsor, and rally veteran, Les Walkden, upset some of the more fancied runners, driving his off-road spec Mitsubishi Pajero into ninth place. Front-wheel drive exponent, Aiden Peterson, had problems galore with his Nissan Sunny GTI when he blew a thermo fan and clutch. He then broke a gear linkage on the rough Nicholas stage and had to retire. Byron Murfet dropped down the order in his Subaru after first turbo boost problems, and then an off-road excursion. The rally was held in warm and windy conditions, with a special feature of the rally being a new RallySafe system that was being tested, with remote check-in for competitors. CLICK HERE to view the full Mountain Stages Rally results.

Craig Brooks led early, but retired the ex-Molly Taylor Subaru WRX. Photo: Angryman Photography

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