Refreshed Windus ready for title decider

Windus, 25, is leading the Production Cup and is third overall in the championship after the two rounds thus far, and with COVID reducing the numbers of events in 2021, he has the chance to take home some silverware this weekend.

A strong result at the Monaro Sprint Rally would help him to maintain his results in the highly competitive series, but Windus is still steely focussed on the task at hand, rather than looking to the end result.

After finishing third overall at the last round in Queensland way back in May, his Subaru has gone through significant changes, with a new engine set to power him for the final rally of his season.

“We are still holding a lot of confidence from our performance at the last round in Queensland,” Windus said.

“The car in Queensland was the best it’s ever been, and since then the boys have given it a refresh, so I’m hoping it’s even better and we can go even faster.”

His main goal is to secure the Production Cup, a class for production-based cars like his four-wheel drive Subaru Impreza WRX, and he’s got a former Australian Rally Champion to battle him for it.

Nathan Quinn, the 2017 overall championship winner, is returning with his Mitsubishi Lancer, and is no doubt looking to spoil the party for Windus.

He’ll also have competition in the overall class from the factory Toyota GR Yaris AP4 cars of Harry and Lewis Bates, while Luke Anear’s Ford Fiesta R5 is also sure to be on the pace.

“Quinny is a classy driver, and is capable of setting some really fast stage times, so he is sure to be tough to beat,” Windus added.

“He’s got experience on these roads, but we’ll just be focussing on our rally, and myself and Dan (co-driver Dan Brick) will be doing the best job we can.”

The rally’s roads are fast, flowing and require a lot of commitment, something that Windus is not lacking. His stage times on the fast stages of the season prove that.

“I love fast roads,” Windus added.

“Being able to link together fifth and sixth gear corners, at close to top speed, is something that I really enjoy.

“I’m really looking forward to the challenge these roads present.”

Windus’ Subaru is seeded fourth for the weekend’s rally action, which gets underway on Saturday December 11.

The Western Victorian Crane Trucks and Bild-Group supported driver will then turn his attention to the 2022 rally season, which promises to be bigger and better than ever with seven rounds making up the Australian Rally Championship.

The final round of the RSEA Safety Motorsport Australia Rally Championship, consists of 10 competitive stages covering over 200 kilometres, which will be a challenge for both man and machine.