2014 Australian Rally Champion, Scott Pedder, announced last week that he will contest the WRC2 category in several rounds of this year's World Rally Championship. Pedder, together with regular co-drivr Dale Moscatt, will drive a Ford Fiesta against some of the world's best drivers.
Pedder spoke the the Australian Rally Championship's media team.
Q: Terrific news Scott that you’re going to be contesting the WRC2 this year, how big a decision was that between winning the Australian Rally Championship last November to announcing your WRC2 program in mid-February?
A: It has certainly been a busy time with lots of conversations and emails with a lot of people. Any decision that involves a long period of time away from your family and business is a big one but then you add in the fact that we sincerely love competing in Australia. In the end the opportunity was there and the decision was a relatively easy one.
Q: And you mentioned in your announcement that a number of people have helped make this happen so quickly, anyone you want to specifically mention?
A: I cannot mention one very important person because it will ruin a future exciting release but I will say that Dale Moscatt, Mark Pedder and my wife Caroline have been instrumental in making this a possibility. We have had advice from the likes of George Donaldson and other influential people that have all assisted greatly in quickly understanding the landscape in the WRC and the things we will need to consider.
Q: How big a move is it, not just financially but from a time and resources point of view, to jump from running outright in the ARC to committing to a program in the WRC?
A: Time away is the most obvious. We will spend 7 weeks away between mid-May and the start of August so the support of my entire family has made this possible. Thanks to some extended commercial support the cost is less than what most would pay but still significant but due to some economies of scale deals can be done “relatively” inexpensively. That said yes running the ARC this year would have been a far smarter financial decision!
Q: It must be exciting for you to be stepping in a brand new Ford Fiesta R5. What are you expecting from the car?
A: Obviously more traction than my previous car! I expect it to be unbelievably good. To be honest I cannot wait to drive it. We have some pretty extensive testing planned so we are confident that we can be comfortable in the car from the start. The RMC team is also very keen to see us do well.
Q: Is stepping into an unknown car, on unknown events, on the other side of the World a daunting prospect?
A: Daunting no but exciting yes. There is no doubt we will be nervous but we really have nothing to lose. This is certainly going to be out of the comfort zone but we will immediately know where we sit and to be honest we are looking forward to that. It certainly is going to be a challenge but the most important thing always is the relax, have fun and enjoy the experience – which I admit is probably not going to be difficult!
Q: It must be reassuring then to have someone like Dale Moscatt beside you who has competed in the WRC previously?
A: Yes Dale is a huge asset. I saw this in China when I was with him and Atko. He adapts very well and uses his experience and vast knowledge as an advantage. I think our maturity and experience will be something we can draw on but when it comes to it speed is what you need.
Q: We’ve seen young drivers like Chris Atkinson, Molly Taylor and Brendan Reeves have a crack at the WRC in recent years. Age aside do you see what your doing in a similar light or completely different?
A: Thanks for that! I hope so, and I hope others do too. I think I am probably different to those guys where they were all trying to build careers on the world stage. That is not my intention and I am realistic that given the current situation that whatever the results I can achieve that is not going to happen. I am doing this because I want to know where I am at and because I think I can be competitive but ultimately this is for an incredible life experience. Ultimately though we are both highly competitive and want to win.
Q: And lastly how are you going to approach the year? Are you there with something to prove or is this a case of ticking another box on your rally resume?
A: We are there to try and win – that has never changed for me. I have got a touch smarter over the years so I realise that flat out all the time often ends badly. But we are also acutely aware that the pace is going to need to be flat out or very close to it and it might even be beyond that. I reckon at the end of the first stage in Portugal we will have a better idea and then we can adjust from there.
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