Young gun Brendan Reeves experienced both the highs and lows of rallying today in Heat One of Rally Queensland.
Contesting the Asia Pacific Rally Championship component of the event, and vying for one of the top two places in the Pirelli Star Driver (PSD) competition, Reeve's day started well, finishing as the second fastest PSD competitor on the day's opening stage.
Trouble struck, however, on the second stage of the day, the 17.55 kilometre 'Kandanga Long 1' stage, when the Subaru Impreza WRX STI lost a wheel, resulting in a time loss of 17 minutes. Reeves and co-driver, Glen Weston, worked frantically to replace the wheel, and rejoined the rally at the tail of the APRC field.
Despite the time loss, Reeves remained confident and set about making his mark on the remaining five stages. As the Pirelli Star Driver competitors earn points for each stage result (five points for fastest, four points for second fastest, etc.), Reeves was determined to set some good stage times and that is exactly what he did. Â
In the remaining five stages of the day, Reeves was the quickest PSD driver on four, and second fastest on the other, earning him the top spot at the end of the day. It was a remarkable effort after his earlier disappointment.
"It was an interesting start to the rally, that's for sure," Reeves said. "The left hand front wheel came off with about two kilometres to go in the stage, so Glen and I had to really put our heads together and frantically get it back on so we could resume the rally. Luckily for us it happened on a reasonably slow part of the stage - we had already finished the really fast part, so Glen and I obviously said our prayers this morning!
"The car has been awesome today and I'm really happy with the way Glen and I have worked together. Our notes have been really good and everything has really gelled," he added.
Heat Two of Rally Queensland tomorrow sees another seven stages and 114 competitive kilometres. Tomorrow's Pirelli Star Driver points will be added to today's results.
Pirelli Star Driver points, Day 1:
1. Brendan Reeves 30, 2. Eli Evans 29, Nathan Quinn 20, Hayden Paddon 19.
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