On the eve of the next round of the East Coast Bullbars Australian Rally Championship, Molly Taylor has revealed that her debut win at the last round in Canberra may not have even happened.
“We took a massive hit on the sump guard during the first Heat,” explained Molly. “Not only did that push up and damage the sump itself, but it also sent a shock through the frame the sump guard mounts to and that cracked the engine rocker cover and the timing case.”
“The team were able to patch it up, and Darryl (Bush) from Neal Bates Motorsport came over to give us a hand, but honestly we weren’t sure it’d hold together to get us to the finish line.”
While history will show the patch job held together long enough to deliver Molly her first ever Round win, she said that it was a nerve-wracking experience. “I had to keep thinking ahead to any jumps or anywhere where it might be rough. One big jolt could have damaged the engine and see us out of the rally!”
Heading into Queensland, and with a healthy lead in the Championship points race, Molly says she’s far from thinking about taking it easy and if anything she wants to get even more out of herself and her Renault Clio.
“It’s far too early in the season to think about relaxing, there are way too many points on offer over the next three events!” Molly said. “And I know there is a lot more in me and the car too, so I’ll be out there going as fast as I can from that very first stage in Queensland.”
In fact Molly added that while it was an indescribable feeling to stand on the top step of the podium in Canberra, she would have felt even happier if she’d be able to do so after a flat out fight with the sport’s best.
“I’m like every other driver, we want to race and beat the fastest guys out there on every stage, not to win just because they didn’t finish,” explained Molly, with the engine failure to Simon Evans and suspension damage to brother Eli Evans the obvious example.
“You definitely have a different feeling as a driver if you’ve had a down to the wire fight to the very last stage. I was ecstatic to win in Canberra, but it would have felt even sweeter if it been a massive fight to earn the right to stand on that top step at the finish.”
With Queensland regarded as one of the toughest events of the year, and with the ECB ARC regulars being split across both the local and international Asia-Pacific Rally Championship entry lists, Molly is preparing herself for another stern challenge.
Fortunately she’ll have mum Coral Taylor, and longtime supporter Neal Bates, in her corner for the entire weekend, with Neal opting not to run his Classic Celica in Queensland.
“I’ve got such a great team around me, but we are a bit light on. So to have another set of hands with mum will be great. And to have Neal there for support too, as a driver you couldn’t ask for more!” continued Molly.
The East Coast Bullbars Australian Rally Championship contenders line up for the ARMOR ALL & STP Power Stage on Friday morning in the Beerwah forests, ahead of the ceremonial start in Caloundra and two full days of rally action in the forests outside of Imbil.
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