With three podium finishes this season and a nearly twice the points of his nearest challenger, Mick Patton is sitting fairly pretty at the top of the Australian 4WD standings. But with the longest and toughest event ahead next week, Coates Hire Rally Australia, he’s ready to take on challengers from near and far.
One of those contenders is Guy Tyler from South Australia, the Mitsubishi driver may be running one of the oldest model Evolutions in the field but he’s coming off strong form after a win at the most recent round of the SA Rally Championship.
“We had a great warm up at the Copyworld Walky 100,” said Tyler. “We were having a massive battle with Henry Nott until he blew his gearbox. And it wasn’t a straight forward run home after that for us, we went off the road at 190km/h and also hit a kangaroo in the dark.”
“So we’ve been racing against time to get the car spotless for Rally Australia, and we can’t wait to load it up and start the drive up to Coffs Harbour,” continued Guy. “It’s going to be a great event, with a fair amount of competition but my eventual aim is to get a 4WD podium.”
New South Welshman Gerald Schofield will also be in the mix, the veteran rally driver openly admitting he’s not competing for the glory but rather for the fun. “At my age I don’t pretend like I’m driving at the level of some of the other guys out there. I’m a plodder,” laughed Schofield.
Despite downplaying his speed Schofield managed a podium finish at last year’s Rally Australia, and is hopeful that if he has a clean run a similar result may yet be possible.
“Every now and then I manage to pull one out of the bag,” commented Gerald. “Last year we managed a podium, and that’s the plan this year too. But above all else I’m there to have fun, that’s what rallying is all about.”
And from Tasmania, admitting he uses the trip North to Coffs Harbour as a way to escape the Southern cold, Marcus Walkem returns for his second run at Rally Australia.
“I did the event last year and really enjoyed both the roads and the atmosphere of competing at a World Rally event. Plus as a competitor it represents great value for money, to get three full days of driving is pretty awesome,” Marcus said.
Walkem hasn’t appeared since the second round of the East Coast Bullbars Australian Rally Championship, the National Capital Rally, where he finished second behind Mick Patton and ahead of Justin Dowel.
“We had a great run in Canberra, and I’m hopeful of doing something similar in Coffs Harbour. We haven’t done an event since Canberra, so I’m not expecting to be fully on the pace but it’s a long rally and if I take it steady I’ll aim to be right up there by the end,” added Walkem.
But what of the 4WD points leader Patton? With two wins at the opening two rounds of the ECB ARC, and then a lucky third after gearbox issues in Queensland, the Canberran driver is looking to bounce back in Coffs.
“The car went back to Race Torque in Western Australia after a very rough and rocky Queensland for a complete mid-season freshen up,” explained Patton. “And I just did a quick test in my old Subaru, just to get back in the groove of driving a four-wheel drive after a couple of months of no rallying.”
“I can’t wait to get to Coffs though! I think the nature of the stages really suits our Evo; it just instills so much confidence when you drive it. I’m also looking forward to the challenge from all the other 4WD’s and if things go according to plan it should be another great week.”
Coates Hire Rally Australia starts with the ARMOR ALL & STP Power Stage for both the leading 2WD and 4WD contenders on the morning of Thursday 10th, where Patton, Tyler, Schofield and Walkem will be joined by the likes of Mark Pedder and Justin Dowel, before the official start in down town Coffs Harbour that same afternoon.
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