Although they were largely unchallenged in their Subaru Forester this year, Middleton says that with the continued partnerships of East Coast Bull Bars, McGrath foundation, EcuteK ECU tuning and Kumho Tyres, he’s already looking forward to next season.
“We’ve still got the final round of the 2012 ARC to contest, but I’m thrilled to be already planning for next year,” Middleton said.
“We tossed up the temptation to contest the outright 2WD championship next year, but the Subaru is such a fun car to drive that we’ll be back for more.”
Middleton says that the SUV cars are incredibly low cost to run and are a great entry level for competitors wishing to experience the Australian Rally Championship.“For sure, the SUVs aren’t the fastest rally cars out there, but our program this year has been really good for business, our partners (including Whiteline, MRT Performance and Disc Brakes Australia) have got good value for money, and all will be with us again next year.
“We’ve even had interest from someone who is considering buying our current car, and if that comes off, we’ll build a second Forester for next season,” he said.
The MRT SUV has surprised people on special stages that suit the 1600kg car. Developing the car throughout the year the team has steadily improved the speed and consistency at each subsequent event.
Recent tyre testing at the Snake Racing Coffs Coast Rally resulted in another half a second a kilometre in speed.
The Subaru turbo diesel has 60NM more torque and 30kW more power than standard. With only an ECU custom tune and a minor exhaust modification, this is its only power mods.
The rest of the car features DBA rotors, MCA shocks, Whiteline suspension, Motec dash logger and a Bond roll cage
Middleton and Benefield will contest all rounds of the 2013 Australian Rally Championship.
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