The International Rally of Queensland is a rally that most teams approach with caution, due to its rough roads and unforgiving nature, but the Opti-Coat Rally Team and driver Steven Mackenzie are looking forward to the rally on the sunshine coast.

“The first two rounds we attended this year, being Canberra and SA, were totally new rallies for us, I had never done either rally and both are extremely fast in places which doesn’t suit the Fiesta,” Steven said.

“The IROQ will be the first rally for 2013 that I have already done before, so I am looking forward to attacking the more familiar twisty Queensland roads.”

The last time Steve contested the harsh Queensland roads was in 2012, where he competed as part of the Rallyschool.com.au junior challenge, with Steve and the team coming away with a dominant victory, so there is plenty of cause for optimism heading into this round.

Steve and the team believe that setting times in the top 5 or 6 of the ARC field is a fair target, with the car receiving a rebuilt gearbox and new motor.

Western Australian co-driver, Ben Searcy, will be back in the seat again, after having settled in quickly with Steve and the team over the first two rounds the team contested, and also brings a wealth of knowledge to the team having competed in Queensland many times before.

The International Rally of Queensland, a round of the ECB ARC and the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, kicks off Friday evening (12th July) under lights at the Nambour Showground.

Steve and the Opti-Coat Rally team would like to extend their thanks to other sponsors: Bendigo Tyre Centre, Innes Motors, Moro & Dooly Accident Repair, Northern Vic Assessors and Perrows Paints.

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