With a handy 27-point buffer over Brendan Reeves, some have questioned what driving style Scott Pedder will take into the final Round of the season in his quest to capture the East Coast Bullbars Australian Rally Championship.
Some might suspect Scott will drive cautiously, defend his lead and cruise to the finish line where he’ll lift the Championship trophy aloft. “No chance,” Scott replied emphatically, promising to continuing his all-guns blazing approach he’s become renowned for.
“The simple truth is we’ve had the pace all year. We’ve won something like three quarters of the stages by following my natural driving style, so why change a winning formula?
“I have thought about the way I’ll drive in Victoria and I believe that if you try to drive differently that’s when you start to have problems.”
Reliability has been the key this season, with Reeves benefitting at the start of the year as Pedder faltered at both of the opening rounds in Canberra and Western Australia. In turn, Pedder has been able to turn the tables as Reeves stumbled on the ARMOR ALL Power Stage in Queensland before a broken cam shaft at Rally Australia saw Pedder skip ahead in the points.
Reeves, as well as Adrian Coppin, both go to Victoria with a chance of denying Pedder the title, especially if history repeats itself from twelve months ago and Pedder has issues at the final round.
“If I push in Rally Victoria I can take away the mathematical equation that would possibly allow Brendan to get ahead in the points and take the Championship. In essence I can control my own destiny. He can only hope that I make a mistake and that he’s in a position to capitalize,” Pedder explained.
“I think if I was driving for a third or fourth, you then really do run the risk of having a problem and ending up fifth or sixth. Imagine driving cautiously, having an issue and watching the Championship get pulled out of your grasp. That would be devastating!”
“When I think back, the only time we’ve made a mistake this year was a spin in Canberra and being a bit over zealous on the Power Stage at Rally Australia. Both Brendan and I have had good luck at the others’ expense this year,” he added.
The battle will be an intriguing one though, and in a few short weeks we’ll be crowning a brand new Champion – either the vastly determined Pedder, looking to turn his years of hard work into victory, or the young gun Reeves who has the pace and willpower but needs a dose of good luck to fall his way.
Rally Victoria runs from November 14 to 15 November in the Shire of Baw Baw, just over an hour’s drive outside of Melbourne.
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