The Bendigo Tyre Centre Rally Bonnie Doon will see an epic battle for both the Outright and 2WD Focus on Furniture Victorian Rally Championship this weekend.
In outright contention are Justin Dowel and Scott Spedding in their EVO X, along with Viv Dilkes-Frayne and Tracey Dewhurst (Subaru WRX STi), and Justin Walker and Biainca Lowe in their Ford Escort.
Justin Dowel is hoping to claim this year's VRC title at Rally Bonnie Doon.(John Doutch pic)42 crews have entered the final round, which will start from the Mansfield Showgrounds at 8:30am on Saturday morning to contest 10 forest stages with a total of 111 km competitive.
Multiple Australian Rally Champion, Simon Evans, in the Honda Civic Type R normally driven by younger brother Eli, will head the field as car 1. Evans will be joined by co-driver Ben Searcy.
Spectators will have two locations to view the cars in the forest and guides are available from vicrally.com.au – VRC – 2014 Championship, or from the event start.
The 2014 Focus on Furniture VRC all comes down to the maths, with Dowel needing to score at least 29 points over the two heats, while Dilkes-Frayne would need to win both heats and score a maximum 60 points to steal the crown from Dowel. But it looks as though Spedding won’t share the top spot with Dowel, after missing Rally Victoria and the pair failing to score any points at the Akademos after a crash. This will allow Dewhurst to take the co-driver honours as long as she scores at least 16 points over the two heats this weekend.
Meanwhile, the 2WD Championship is not quite as complicated with Justin Walker and Biainca Lowe needing just 7 points over team stablemate, Luke Sytema and Adam Wright. Sytema would need to score a full 60 points and has pulled out the big guns and taken the covers off his classic Escort RS1800 BDG, instead of running his usual P3 2 Litre Escort.
Grant Walker, in his BDG Escort, currently sits in third on the points table and will also need a strong finish to hold off Brian Semmens and Dan Parry in their Nissan 200SX, stealing his spot on the podium.
As well as the VRC, the event is the final round of the Bendigo Tyre Centre Victorian Noted Rally Series. A one-off series consisting of the final three pacenoted rounds of this year’s VRC, with a total of $5000 prize money up for grabs.
Again the winners are open with Warren Lee and David Lethlean, Dowel and Matt Lee and Dilkes-Frayne and Dewhurst all in contention for the 4WD class. Justin Walker and Lowe, as well as Sytema and Wright, will both need a strong result, otherwise Semmens and Parry could swoop by to steal the cash.
Event director, Scott Spedding, is pleased with the field: “We are very happy with the quality of the field and couldn’t have hoped for a better finish to both the Focus on Furniture VRC and the Bendigo Tyre Centre VNRS.
“To have both come down to the final round is great for the championship. Mansfield is again keen to have us in town, and the North Eastern Car Club is looking forward to putting on one of the best events in the Championship,” Spedding said.
The Bendigo Tyre Centre Rally Bonnie Doon will finish at the Mansfield Showgrounds at approximately 5:30pm, followed by the 2014 Focus on Furniture VRC awards presentation.
Download the 2014 Bendigo Tyre Centre Rally Bonnie Doon entry list HERE.
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