The Subaru do Motorsport team heads to the Lightforce Rally South Australia next week, with Molly Taylor aiming to consolidate her third place in the Kumho Tyre Australian Rally Drivers Championship 2016.
The Subaru do duo of Taylor and co-driver Bill Hayes enter the Adelaide Hills event on the back of their debut win for the team.
They piloted the Group N production class All-Wheel Drive WRX STI NR4 to victory in last month’s Southern Safari Tasmania, a round of the Eastern Autobody Tasmanian Rally Series.
That confidence-booster has the pair fully focussed on maximising their points in this fourth round of the national championship – the penultimate test of the five-round season.
Taylor and Hayes’ fourth place finish in June’s International Rally of Queensland was achieved in horrendous conditions in Heat Two, which led to stage cancellations – and the pair is hoping for calmer weather in SA.
Molly said: “Our last run out in Tasmania proved we can do it against the odds, with a flat tyre early on costing us time, which we fought hard to recover.
“On the back of the mud in Heat Two in Queensland, we know we’ve got the teamwork happening to challenge harder and that’s exactly what we’ll be aiming to do in SA.
“It’s exciting because there are three night stages on Saturday which I enjoy and I’ve been eating lots of carrots to maximise my eyesight!
“There’s also a good mix of stages over the whole weekend that range from a lot of junctions and cuts in the Mount Crawford Forest to the more slippery wide shire roads, which are super fast.
“We want to apply as much pressure as we can to ensure our current top three place in the Championship.”
Subaru’s newest colour scheme on the WRX STI features a theme based on South Australia’s Murray River, with rich sunset tones marking a temporary departure from the traditional Subaru blue.
The colour scheme is changing for each event in this year’s Championship, paying homage to key lifestyle or recreational activities held in the area where the rally is hosted.
Meanwhile, Molly is training for October’s Noosa Triathlon – her first such event.
With a strong focus on endurance, cardio and strength, she says her program will only complement her rally activity.
“But don’t expect a good triathlon placing, I’ll be happy to finish!” said Molly.
Lightforce Rally SA is Round four of the Kumho Tyre Australian Rally Drivers Championship 2016. It covers 12 stages on Saturday’s Heat One and eight stages on Sunday’s Heat Two. The shortest stage is 5.27 kilometres and the longest 20.14 km.
Subaru has had historical success in SA, with the late Possum Bourne winning five of the rallies between 1992 and 2002.
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