A walk through the service park during the shakedown stage for the National Capital Rally was a bit like watching a duck on a pond. Everything looked nice and calm above the water, but underneath the legs were paddling like crazy.
Mark Pedder's new Peugeot struggled with engines problems in the National Capital Rally pre-event shakedown. (Pic: Matthew Whitten)Rally cars and service vehicles were interspersed with spectator cars in the parking area at Kowen Forest, just outside Queanbeyan, as teams made their last minute adjustments before the rally got underway in earnest the following morning.
Yet while everything looked to be in hand, there was work feverishly taking place, and in-depth discussions as teams tried to get their heads around last minute dramas.
Take Mark Pedder for example. His new Peugeot Maxi Car had its new competition engine fitted the night before and the car didn’t start until 5.30 on the morning of the shakedown. But problems surfaced immediately, with an intercooler hose blowing off and engine management problems plaguing what Pedder hoped would be a trouble-free pre-event test.
A few metres away, Justin Dowel looked relaxed and happy with his new Hyundai i20, but others weren’t so pleased.
Richie Dalton had flown so hard over the jump at the end of the shakedown stage that he’d damaged his Mitsubishi Lancer’s clutch on landing, even though he set the fastest four-wheel drive time.
Simon Evans, meanwhile, had worries of his own. Driving the Honda Jazz for the first time this season, he finished the stage three seconds slower than brother, Eli, but the gearbox had jumped out of second gear mid-way through the stage and the Evans team quickly retreated to remove the gearbox and check for damage.
“The car feels great though,” Evans said. “We’ve totally rebuilt the car and it’s now set up for my driving, rather than Eli’s, and it’s feeling good.
“Mugen wanted $30,000 a rally just to use their engines, so we’ve built our own and we’re confident that we have a really competitive package.”
Just down the hill, Cody Crocker’s team were unloading a brand new Polaris RXR 1000 XP that was a step up from the machine he won last year’s Side By Side championship in.
“It will need to be,” Crocker remarked “Guesty’s got another 20 horsepower in his new car, so we’ll really need to be on our game and keep improving.”
A hundred metres away at the top of the hill, Neal Bates was lined up to start the stage in his classic Toyota Celica, with a ride winner sitting in the co-driver’s seat. Meanwhile, his son, Harry, was out on the stage in his front-wheel drive Toyota Corolla. This is Harry’s first ARC round, and no doubt the eyes of the rallying world are on him.
Like Richie Dalton before him, the younger Bates hit the end of stage jump too quickly, got airborne and was unable to get around the following left hander. With dad Neal strapped into his own rally car, it was left to a spectating Coral Taylor to rush towards the disappearing Corolla.
Fortunately for Harry, the car came to rest before the trees, and he was able to select first gear and complete the stage without damage – and Coral was saved a 200-metre sprint.
And so it went on. Spectators leaning on the concrete fencing may have only been aware of what was happening on the short piece of gravel road in front of them. But all around them, the legs of many ducks were paddling as fast as they could.
- Peter Whitten
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