The final round of the Australian Rally Championship brought sun, surf and heat to the Raymond Partners Accountants Rally Team, who headed to the Coffs Coast Rally.
Held in the holiday location of Coffs Harbour, the heat is a stark contrast to the cold experienced in the last round in Tasmania.
For the first time at an event, the team performed pre-event testing to ensure the car and driver, Glen Raymond, were well sorted prior to the event. The crew was also able to fine tune the car's handling set-up to finally give the driver the ability to push 100% on the dangerous Banana Coast roads.
Entering into Heat 1, the confidence of Raymond and navigator brother, Matt, was soon evident with them charging easily into fourth outright. However, tyre dramas were to unfold when the team suffered two flat tyres. Having only one spare tyre resulted in the crew having to drive on a flat and plummet them from 4th to 12th Outright.
"It is definitely frustrating to get two flats, but even more so when we didn’t hit anything and took it easy through the rough parts," said Matt Raymond.
Heat 2 started well, with them instantly setting second fastest time, equal with Toyota works driver Simon Evans. Despite taking no risks during the heat, the team was able to consolidate the previous day’s efforts to come home in second outright, their best heat result to date.
Despite the heat 1 tyre dramas, the team were elated to be able to finish third outright in the Australian Rally Championship for the event. Without the punctures, they would have finished second overall.
"After spending a year chasing the set-up of the car to suit my driving style, I’m so happy to have a car to that is so fun and confidence inspiring to drive," Glen Raymond said. "After a year in the car and with some fine tuning of the set-up, we are really looking forward to hitting the ground running next year."
The team would like to thank its sponsors for their encouragement and support: Raymond Partners Accountants, JNJ Electrical Contractors, Mammi Motors, Bendigo Bank, Premium Electrical Services, Global Energy Solutions, Blackwell Bodyworks, Michelin Tyres, Quality Site Welding, Legible Signs, Critical Damping Services, Jen’s Dinkum Discounts and VicParts.
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