Round five of the 2014 Hankook Tyre Queensland Rally Championship is soon to unfold and will be contested around the small central Queensland township of Wowan, just outside of Rockhampton. The event will be a day-night rally held on Saturday, August 30.
The championship is coming down to a very thin wire with only one second separating the top two teams at the last event. Finishing the most recent rally on top of the ladder and with an outright win at the Border Ranges Rally was Matt van Tuinen and Erin Kelly. With only a one second margin back to second place of Ian Menzies and Bob McGowan, it shows that the series is going to be a hard fought battle, right to the bitter end.
Waiting quietly and closely in the wings in third is the Rockhampton crew of Wayne Menzies and Chris Baxter, who may just have the upper hand with local support and confidence at their home town event.
Round five of the championship is the furthest from the major South East population with mainly the true rally diehards and championship contenders making the journey north. Local Central and North Queensland competitors will be out in force and not only eager to show up their comrades from the south, but also show case their ability to host one of the state’s best rallies on the calendar.
The Central Queensland Motor Sporting Club will be hosting the rally and club president, Clay Weston, although quite apprehensive, is very excited about the upcoming rally.
“It has been a long time since our club and region has hosted a full on State Round, so it is exciting and quite nerve wracking at the same time. We all like to do things right and put on one of the best rallies on the calendar, so our entire club has put in a massive effort to put this event on.
"It is the first time a rally has been run around Wowan, so we have had to work closely and slowly with the entire community and area to make sure it is a success for all stake holders. Although we won’t know until after the rally is run and done, we would love to think the event will be an annual event and an integral part of the QRC calendar,” Weston said.
The rally will be utilising fast and flowing local shire roads around Wowan, indicating that a very close battle will ensue among the title contenders. Each round has seen the margins between the top teams edge ever closer.
With Wowan being a brand new rally on the calendar, with new and unknown roads and conditions, it will inevitably throw the doors wide open and could very well be anyone’s game. The predicted sleepers in the pack will be Darren Baker and Ron Peters in their proven Nissan 200sx. Not only have the pair been very quick at every rally they compete in, Wowan is close their Central Queensland home base of Moura, so they will be tucking the home ground advantage card up their sleeve.
One of Queensland fastest and bravest drivers, Allan Griffin, will be making the journey north and hoping to make up for a disappointing result at the recent Border Ranges Rally. Griffin is very quick in his aging, yet reliable and well sorted Datsun Stanza and is an ace at the fast flowing, yet difficult to read roads. He is hoping that Wowan will prove to be a happy hunting ground and be in a position to take a shot at the predictably fast 4WDs.
Marco Jansen and Cameron McIntoch in an imported VW Polo will also be ones to watch as will be Gerard McKonkey and Peter Stringfellow in an old, but still quick Toyota Celica GT4.
Further details on the “Where’s Wowan Rally” can be found on the CQMSC web site: www.cqmsc.asn.au
Photo: Kristen Hayes
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