SAABCARE Motorsport is gearing up for its latest challenge with the two car team going into the next round of the QRC, the forthcoming Philcomm Rally Jimna, full of confidence after their strong showing on the recent Red Devil Energy Drink Rally Queensland.
On that event, which ran on the weekend of May 8 - 10, the SAABCARE Motorsport team launched its two new vehicles (an ex-GSA Motorsport EVO VI and an ex-Ralliart EVO IV) into the forest for the first time. SAABCARE Motorsport are now one of only a few teams fielding two cars in Australia.
The two crews, Kent Lawrence and Steve Andrews and brothers Mike and Matt Bailey, have been rallying together for the past 18 months with reasonable success in their previous vehicles and they are now looking set to challenge the Queensland Rally Championship (QRC) front runners following their promising results from Rally Queensland 2009.
Mike Bailey, who has a long history in motorsport both locally and internationally, had great success in 2008 taking third outright and the P6 title in the QRC in the ex-Murfett/Glennie Pulsar GTiR. Kent Lawrence commenced rallying 18 months ago, taking the title for the Queensland Gemini Series in 2007 and achieved some strong results in 2008, narrowly missing out on a QRC Clubman class title in his ex-Wayne Bell Hyundai Lantra.
With the team setting their goals on outright positions in the QRC they needed strong results at Red Devil Energy Drink Rally Queensland. This was a huge task as neither driver had had a great deal of time in their new cars. By the finish however, Kent had achieved the result he was chasing, third in both heats and grabbing a stage win (QRC) along the way, which was a bonus. This result made him 14th fastest overall for that stage.
Sadly, fortune was not smiling on the Baileys. Whilst closely trailing their team-mates in fourth place, they retired their Evo IV a few hundred metres into the penultimate stage when they lost all drive, thanks to a drivetrain problem.
After the event Kent Lawrence acknowledged the hard work that had gone into the event. "Being able to commit to our rallying goals is not attempted solo. To achieve a result requires dedication and hard work from everyone involved including our service and support crew and our team sponsors Task Recruitment, BP Ultimate, SAABCARE, Stickers Direct, J&L Haulage and Sew Professional," he said.
The Philcomm Rally Jimna will be held on July 18 and 19 and is based at the forestry township of Jimna. Competition gets underway from 3.30pm Saturday and the first car is due to finish after lunch on Sunday.
For more information please log onto the Brisbane Sporting Car Club website: www.bscc.asn.au
Images courtesy of Red Hot Shotz www.redhotshotz.com