For a driver as successful and experienced as Simon Evans it’s quite remarkable that when he takes the start line for Coates Hire Rally Australia it will be his first appearance at the local Round of the World Rally Championship since the event last ran in Western Australia.
“That’s right, I’ve never done the rally since it came to the East Coast,” confirmed Simon, who will head the East Coast Bullbars Australian Rally Championship field of the WRC event when it starts in Coffs Harbour later this month.
Records show that Evans last contested Rally Australia in Western Australia in 2002, when he drove his former Raceworx Subaru Impreza WRX. This time around he will campaign the Evans Motorsport two-wheel drive Honda Jazz.
Despite his lack of recent experience, Evans has a significant track record on the forestry roads in Coffs Harbour where the event is now based. “I won a Heat in Coffs a couple of years ago when the event was just a Round of the ARC. It was our second event in the Rallyschool Mazda, we had a terrible Heat One but took the win in Heat Two,” he said.
“We also used to test in Coffs all the time back in the Toyota days, so I know my way around some of those roads pretty well,” Simon added.
Evans said the technical nature of the forestry roads compliments his style of driving. “The stages are always turning over crests, and you’ve got to have the car setup for the corner before you can even see where the road goes. Commitment to your notes is key!”
Unfortunately, at their last event outing in Queensland, Evans and co-driver Ben Searcy were finding their Honda Jazz’ handling slightly unpredictable on the cresty stages. “It’s really about getting the car to do what I want it to do.”
“The way I explain it is I want a car, that when you pitch it into a corner and come back on the power, that the cars feels like it’s ‘into the road’, and at the moment the car feels ‘on top of the road’,” explained Simon.
“When you’re flying over crests in Queensland and the car is wanting to swap ends, well that’s when you know things aren’t quite working the way they should be. But I’ve got a great team working on the car, the best in the business, and I’m confident when we get to Coffs the car will be much improved,” added Evans.
Despite feeling a lack of confidence in the Jazz up until this point in the season, Evans feels he’s making decent progress with the former Championship winning car. “The biggest problem is just a lack of kilometres in the car. We were out early in Canberra, and again in Queensland we didn’t get many stages.”
“There are a couple of traits in the car that are a bit hairy at the moment but we are getting on top of those one-percenters that will transform it I’m sure. In Coffs I’m sure we’ll be right in the window!”
Evans leads a field of thirty-six local drivers at Coates Hire Rally Australia from 10th until the 13th September, log onto www.rallyaustralia.com.au for spectator information.
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