The disappointment of not finishing the May round of the NSW State Khanacross Series due to mechanical issues while leading posed a dilemma for the Alliance Motorsport team; whether to fix the mighty VR4 Khanacross car or spend time working on the Subaru Impreza WRX STi Group N Car and start preparations for the Coates Hire Rally Australia, the Australian leg of the World Rally Championship centred around Coffs Harbour.
Team owner of Alliance Motorsport, Peter Dunn, decided on the latter of the two options.
After a successful outing on the opening round of the East Coast Bullbars Australian Rally Championship in Canberra at the start of March, the car needed an upgrade. “Being a 2003 Subaru Impreza WRX Sti, having the right suspension components makes a big difference to the handling of the car”, Dunn said. “Upgrading the car to 2005 Specification allows improved handling and reliability due to the much up-rated components allowed. The car’s suspension prior to Canberra was based on the original Subaru RS Challenge suspension and it was leaving a lot to be desired in the durability stakes.
In fact, issues had arisen during testing.......
“Prior to the event in Canberra, I approached the 2013 NSW State Champion Driver, Michael Harding, and he advised to choose an alternate brand of suspension to what I was using,” Dunn remarked. With the support of Michael’s business Techworkz, he was able to loan half of the necessary suspension components to Alliance Motorsport. This enabled the team to compete in the event without the durability worries that had beset them at Rally Australia in 2013.
With the suspension issues now behind them they were ready for Day 1 of competition. Five minutes before their out time on stage one the co-driver received some news that would ultimately take him out of the entire event.
“We were unable to compete in Day 1 of the event due to our regular co-driver Andrew Saul departing due to family issues,” Dunn commented.
“After sorting out the issues with the organisers and the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS), we were able to substitute Mickey Rourke as the co-driver in for Day 2. Being able to compete, I was very pleased with our stage times against highly experienced drivers. It was a good finish to a highly publicised and challenging event.
With the noticeable increase in speed and handling, much due to Techworkz, Alliance Motorsport decided to purchase the remaining components for a new upgraded suspension on the Subaru. The rest of the components was sourced from Rising Sun Subaru, Possum Bourne Motorsport and Mick Ryan of RallySchool fame.
Though every weekend and most weeknights were spent on getting the car prepared for the next round of the ARC, due to unforeseen work commitments the team had to miss the International Rally of Queensland in June.
There was an upside. The hard work would pay off.
The result; a first up victory for the new upgraded Subaru Impreza WRX STi at the recent round of the NSW State Khanacross Series at Awaba Park on the weekend of July 6. “We went up there with no intention of winning the event, and when it was announced that we won, those long hours we put in had paid dividends.”
The next events for Alliance Motorsport were to be another Khanacross near Jenolan Caves (at the end of July) and a Rallysprint at the end of August at AWABA but the weather had other ideas. However the team is confident in the lead up to Coates Hire Rally Australia next week.
Last year, Alliance Motorsport learnt the hard lesson and the differences between a normal round of the Australian Rally Championship and the World Rally Championship.
“With a new upgraded car and the lessons learnt from 2013, I am really looking forward to mixing with the world’s best rally drivers on the Coffs forestry and shire roads in September,” Dunn added.
SUBSCRIBE BELOW TO READ THE FULL STORY
