Inclement weather at the second round of the NEC ARC Rally Championship saw dry dirt tracks turn into mud traps and claim some of rally’s top guns.
Eli Evans took off-road a little too literally on stage five, while a collection of drivers, including Will Orders, Brendan Reeves and Glen Raymond, fell off the leaderboard in the last three stages because of the conditions.
Teenage rally debutant, Molly Taylor, and co-driver Dale Moscatt, managed to keep their diminutive Mitsubishi Mirage clear of the carnage until the very last stage, when they became bogged in the middle of the road just 5km from the finish.
“It was the final stage of the rally, the rain had stopped, our Silverstone mud tyres were fantastic, and everything was looking good – but it was just so slippery and we were caught out,” Molly said.
“We came upon a two-right and the notes said ‘stay in’, but the back end slid out and the car got dragged into the bog hole. We ended up beached in the middle of the road, with the front wheels just spinning in thick soup and the sills stuck on a mound of mud.”
Molly’s Mirage was stuck in a precarious and dangerous position, but luckily her fellow competitors managed to avoid the stricken car until marshals rendered assistance.
“The safety marshals came to our aid and did an awesome job,” said Molly. “In the end they lifted the rear of the car and wedged star pickets and logs under the front wheels so we could drive it out. We managed to finish the stage but the whole ordeal took 40 minutes and we ended up just out of late time. It was very disappointing - but that’s rallying.”
Molly now has her sights set on the more familiar roads around the Australian Capital Territory for round three of the NEC ARC Championship on June 2-3, where both the ARC and the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship teams will tackle Canberra’s fast forest stages.
“Perth has been the most challenging and worthwhile rally I have done so far,” she said. “Canberra is also very tricky, so I’m looking forward to learning more. We are not registered for F16 points, so we can work on our speed and technique. I will certainly be concentrating on finishing!”
Despite the ‘DNF’ in Sunday’s heat, Molly still has the 1.6-litre 2WD Mirage in 10th outright in ARC points, and currently leads the F16 Championship.
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