Brendan Reeves will kick start his 2016 rally season this weekend at round 2 of the Kumho Tyre Australian Rally Championship (ARC), the National Capital Rally in Canberra.
Reeves’ last event was Rally Spain, a round of the World Rally Championship, in October, where he finished second in the Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy series. In that event, Reeves drove a Ford Fiesta that was prepared by M-Sport but for this weekend’s event, car preparation has been his own responsibility.
Entering his 2006 Subarua Impreza (PRC) in the event, the weeks leading up to the rally have involved many late nights and busy weekends making sure the car is up to speed. A few niggling problems remained when Reeves and his team left for Canberra but these have now been sorted and Reeves completed his reconnaissance of the rally’s route on Thursday.
Reeves will be co-driven by his sister and regular co-driver, Rhianon Gelsomino, and with the pair having won this event when they last competed in Canberra in 2014, they are going into the rally feeling confident.
After a Shakedown test on Friday morning, the National Capital Rally will get underway this evening (May 27) with a Super Special Stage around Lake Burleigh Griffin in the centre of Canberra. Competitors will then complete six forestry stages (three stages each run twice) and a late afternoon run of the Super Special Stage on Saturday, followed by another six forestry stages (three stages each run twice) on Sunday.
With very cool conditions and a little rain forecast for Friday and Saturday, crews can expect slippery roads, particularly on the morning stages.
Much of the route for this year’s event is different to when they won the National Capital Rally in 2014, but Reeves does not see that as a disadvantage.
“There are a few sections of some stages that are the same as 2014 but even those require new pace notes as logging in the forests has changed the way you approach corners, so everyone will be in the same situation,” he said.
“Add to that the fact that most of the other ARC crews are in different cars this year, so I see it as a pretty even playing field.”
“It’s been a lot of hard work to get here this weekend but I’m really excited to be competing in Australia again.
“I’d like to thank everyone who has helped make our entry in Canberra possible and you can rest assured we’ll be giving it our all this weekend.”
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