Brendan Reeves and Rhianon Gelsomino are preparing for one of the most important rallies of their careers, RACC Rally Spain, which gets underway in Barcelona on October 22.
Reeves and Gelsomino were regulars in the WRC Academy (now called the Junior WRC) in 2011 and 2012, competing in a total of twelve events, but they haven’t rallied on European soil since then. They have, however, added to their international experience. The pair contested, and won, the 2013 Rally America 2WD Series after winning five events from five starts. Reeves also returned to America earlier this year to drive the new M-Sport Ford Fiesta R2 in the New England Forest Rally. He comfortably won the 2WD class, giving M-Sport a fantastic debut result for the new R2.
After his great result in America this year, Reeves decided to try his luck in the Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy (DDFT) series which has been run in conjunction with WRC events this year. Whilst not eligible for outright points in the series (as this is the only event they are contesting), they are aiming to secure a nomination for an end-of-season shootout, known as the Vatanen Touch, at which the winner will land a one-off drive in a Fiesta R5 at a 2016 WRC round.
Reeves was able to secure a drive in the mixed surface event in the same Fiesta R2 that he drove in America in July. He and Gelsomino last competed at Rally Spain in 2012 and with three of this year’s stages the same as in 2012, the pair will head into the event knowing what to expect.
Rally Spain is a tough event with Friday’s stages held on gravel and Saturday’s and Sunday’s stages on tarmac. A total of 23 stages totalling 331 kilometres make up the event.
Reeves and Gelsomino’s ten competitors in the event have all contested the entire DDFT series, and this is their fifth event of the season, so the Aussie duo are under no illusions that their task in Spain will be an easy one.
They do head into the event knowing they have plenty of support, though, with a massive fundraising campaign in the lead up to the event raising $25,000 to help get them to Spain.
“The support we got has blown me away,” Reeves said. “ With 93 individual and business supporters for the event it will be like having a major support crew behind us.”
RACC Rally Spain, round 12 of the 2015 World Rally Championship, gets underway on Thursday, October 22 with a street stage around the city of Barcelona but before then, Reeves and Gelsomino will be busy with their pre-event preparation. They’ll spend two days doing a reconnaissance of the road sections, two days writing their pace notes of the actual rally stages and will have a Shakedown test on Thursday morning.
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