The event, scheduled for this Saturday (May 26) will be again based at Benarkin in the Brisbane Valley.
The Clerk-of-Course for this year, Greg Bryant, has responded to competitors pleas for better roads and has based much of the route on some of the better roads in Nanango Forestry.
Thirty-two cars and crews will head out of Benarkin State School at 11.am to cover 160 competitive kilometres for the QRC field and the traditional 80km loop for Clubman and Gemini series competitors.
Keeping a compact route and re-using good roads, the whole event encompasses just five different stages, each run twice during the rally. The longest of these stages is 27 kilometres, while the shortest is a 3.25km blast.
Heading the entry list at car one is the Falken Tyres/GSA Oztec team of Steve Shepheard/Tom Smith in an Evo 6 Lancer, which has recently been updated with a fresh engine and gearbox.
At car two is the reigning QRC champion pairing of Glenn Brinkman/Steve Richardson in the ‘Accent on Stone’ Evo 9 Lancer. Following in third place is the WRX of Matt van Tuinen, also carrying the event sponsor’s name – and Matt is joined by a new co-driver in the form of Dave McNab.
The powerful V8 HandyForm XR8 Falcon of Ian Menzies/Bob McGowan is at car four, while Simon and Margot Knowles round out the top five starters in their ex-Pedders Evo 6 Lancer.
Past Queensland Champion, Bruce Fullerton, is running his ‘classic’ 2WD Toyota Celica and will start down the order at car 12, while Darren Kurzok/Steve Taylor will be having their first QRC outing in the ex-John Goasdoue Subaru Impreza RS.
A close tussle is expected between the top crews, with championship points at stake.
While Benarkin has proven to be something of a harsh track in past years, the promise of excellent rally roads will ensure that the quickest pair wins on the day. The first car is scheduled to finish back at Benarkin by about 9pm.
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