The top ten at the end of Heat 1 of this year's Capital Rally of Canberra includes some new names, after retirements and mechanical problems caused some of the 'regulars' to slip down the order.
Waiting for their chance, some of rallying's young guns and some of the seasoned campaigners, pounced, and have finished the day earning valuable points towards the Australian Championship.
Will Orders/Toni Feaver have had a run of bad luck in the previous two rounds, but put in a fine performance today in their Subaru to finish the day in third place. Spencer Lowndes/Chris Randell (Mitsubishi) missed both Queensland and WA due to budget restrictions, but have shown they still have the pace to match it with the country's best, coming home fourth.
Young gun Brendan Reeves, with sister Rhianon Smyth calling the notes, has also impressed, repeating their top five performance in the opening round. The Victorian driver is certainly one to watch in the future.
Another Victorian, Paul Batten, with Craig Jones alongside, completed the day's stages in an impressive seventh place in their Subaru, ahead of seasoned campaigners David Hills and David Callaghan (Mitsubishi).
In her diminutive Mitsubishi Mirage, Molly Taylor and co-driver Dale Moscatt, leapt into the top ten, and finished the day in ninth place, a result even she didn't expect. In only her third ARC event, Taylor is certainly making a few people sit up and take notice.
Rounding out the top ten of Leg One were South Australians Mitchell Hall and Leigh Stokes. Their Subaru is a long way from its usual stomping ground, but their long road trip to get to the event is certainly paying dividends.
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