Held in the stunning Barossa Valley, the shire roads offered the crew of Glen and Matt Raymond fast and flowing roads past farm houses, but also offered a huge advantage for local knowledge for the more experienced competition.
Despite a quality field that had the Subaru Liberty start car 20 on the road, the crew blasted through the first 2 stages to be 9th Outright.
"In the quality of the field, to get so close to the top teams and knock a few off is awesome!" stated navigator Matt Raymond.
The excitement was quickly dashed when a gear selector problem lost the team over 40 seconds on the next spectator stage.
The next group of stages after service bought more dramas for the team, with the engine suddenly dropping power and not engaging the anti-lag, a crucial aspect of the engine management system that gives maximum engine response.
Despite the issues, including jumping out of 5th gear, which eventually broke, resulting in a 4 speed gearbox and more gear selector problems, the crew was still able to set very competitive times, despite the loss of power and top gear, a must on the flat out roads.
Leaving the final service resulted in the final blow, as when the engine was fired to exit service the timing belt slipped, resulting in bent valves and a DNF for both days.
"When everything is running properly, the rally has given us the confidence to know we can be on the pace," said driver Glen Raymond. "The car will go through a rebuild before our home rally in Victoria on the 23rd & 24th of September to try and get a maximum result for the last round of the Championship."
The team would like to thank their sponsors, Raymond Partners Accountants, Bendigo Bank, JNJ Electrical Contractors, Quality Site Welding, Albroys Subaru, VicParts, Legible Signs and new sponsor Mammi Motors for their ongoing support.
SUBSCRIBE BELOW TO READ THE FULL STORY
