A long summer, and a big rule change has meant that the build up for the 2016 Kumho Tyre Australian Rally Championship has seemed a lot longer than usual.
The move to 4WD has invigorated drivers and fans and, as the interest has grown, so has the anticipation for the 2016 championship.
The first round of the championship, the Quit Forest Rally in Western Australia, will throw up a lot of uncertainty and excitement for what should be a tantalising year-long battle.
Harry Bates will get his first experience of the tricky Western Australian roads in the Quit Forest Rally.Over 200 kilometres of challenging gravel surrounding the city of Busselton, south of the capital of Perth, will be waiting for the crews as they all look to start their season off the right way.
The most exciting news to come from the off-season has been the addition of the Subaru factory team.
Molly Taylor will spearhead the Subaru do Motorsport team, with the outfit no doubt aiming for the ultimate glory after their 11-year absence from the Australian rallying scene.
The team may be new to the ARC, but many familiar faces will be around the traps at the Subaru service park set-up.
The partnership with Les Walkden Rallying puts them in a great position to immediately have a strong and reliable car to allow Molly to fight right at the front of the field.
After a very strong all round performance at this event last year, Molly will be confident. Good strong tests in the new car put her in a good mindset to get her season off to a great start.
Modern Subaru WRXs will also be campaigned by Western Australia’s Maximum Motorsport. Tom Wilde and Brad Markovic will be looking to gain as much local knowledge to give themselves the best chance of a good points scoring position.
Wilde, a former winner in WA, will no doubt step up to lead the team, and try and replicate his very promising second place in the 2013 championship.
Mark Pedder and Justin Dowel’s experience is also bound to come to fore on the difficult roads.
For Pedder, reliability will be the big question mark again as his Peugeot is yet to show its full potential, and despite Dowel’s lack of outright speed last season, added downforce and a greater overall package should see the Activ Rallysport Hyundai up the front of the field again.
Harry Bates will drive an S2000 Toyota Corolla, but it’s arguably going to be a difficult weekend for the young hopeful. Experience is such a necessity for this championship, and especially on the tough roads in Western Australia. Look for Bates to set solid times and to be consistent, perhaps with even more speed at his home event in Canberra.
Adrian Coppin will be stepping up in another Corolla for this season, and will need to prove his pace in a 4WD car. Coppin was a consistent top five finisher in recent years, but again, a lack of experience in a 4WD could possibly put any serious chances of victory on halt until later in the year. He will be out to prove that he is up to the challenge.
Simon Evans will start as pre-event favourite in his freshly built Subaru Impreza WRX. (Photo: Craig O'Brien)However, when studying the entry list, the four-time champion, Simon Evans, is hard to go past when picking a winner. Despite being in a 15 year old car, his name jumps off the page as the man to beat, not only in the Quit Forest Rally, but for the whole season.
Evans will be hoping the freshly built ETS Racing Fuels Impreza will be the car to take him to his fifth national title.
One of the more experienced men in the field, Evans will be keen to start off on the right foot after having a tough season last year in a Honda that was nowhere near as reliable as he would have hoped.
Someone even more experienced than Evans, Ross Dunkerton, will be making a guest appearance this round. Â
Five-time champion, Dunkerton, who we’re used to seeing on the ARC television coverage in recent years, is unlikely to challenge for a podium place, but will simply be looking for a strong weekend. After all, Dunko is 70 years old now!
With the departure of Eli Evans to rally in China, the championship has been blown wide open. Initially it seems another Evans will take over his brother’s mantle, but count out Taylor, Wilde, or even the grit and determination of 2011 champ, Dowel, at your peril!
This is going to be exciting. Let the season begin!
- Luke Whitten
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