The East Coast Bullbars Australian Rally Championship reaches its exciting climax at this weekend’s Rally Victoria, with Scott Pedder and Brendan Reeves squaring off to write their names in the record books.
Compressed into just a day and a half of flat out rallying, Rally Victoria comprises thirteen stages with a total of just under 210 competitive kilometres. With a lot to play for and with so few stages, rally.com.au hit the stats to see who holds the trump card.
So far this season, over the previous five rounds, a total of 92 Special Stages have been contested. To highlight their dominance only Pedder and Reeves have managed to claim a stage victory, with Pedder holding the statistical upper hand with 63 wins to Reeves’s 27.
Interestingly the pair have tied on two occasions, once at the season-opening National Capital Rally and again at the most recent Rally Australia.
Reeves had the early pace in Canberra at the start of the year, before Pedder powered ahead in Western Australia, Queensland, South Australia. The pair were then much more evenly split at Rally Australia, with Pedder up 11 stage wins to Reeves’s 7.
So with Pedder holding a more than two to one stage win advantage, and with a handy 27 point lead in the Championship race, it appears he goes to Rally Victoria the clear favourite.
Clearly it’s going to be a case of flat out from the very start, a pace both Pedder and Reeves are well accustomed too, yet it could very well be a matter of whoever blinks first or, more specifically, hits trouble.
Everyone will be hoping for a fair fight, the fastest wins, but mechanical issues or falling off the road could well play a part as Pedder found out the hard way at this same event last season.
The wildcard amongst the leading duo’s battle will be the return of Eli Evans. If Evans can get between Reeves and Pedder then the points scenario begins to take some very interesting twists and turns. And with Evans promising that he’ll be flat out from the start in an attempt to reassert his speed in the Championship, it will be an intriguing two days of rallying.
The action begins tomorrow morning at Lardner Park with the traditional ARMOR ALL Power Stage shootout around the showgrounds' gravel roads, before a short break ahead of the first of four forestry Special Stages.
With heavy rain forecast, and with the roads in the past proving challenging when water is added, the drivers then have a further nine Special Stages to contend with on Saturday before the champagne finish back at Lardner Park and the crowning of a brand new Australian Rally Champion.
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