Stage conditions were almost perfect for the third round of the Western Australian Rally Championship and Clubman Cup, but unfortunately this did not translate into a smooth drive for many of the Quit Experts Cup frontrunners.
Garry Whittle and Stephen Vass in Rezolt Subaru WRX (Photo: Tim Allott)In the 4WD category, Brad Markovic and co-driver Glenn MacNeall were out early on with two tyre punctures. The team had everything going right, until the second stage when their Subaru WRX developed a slow leak in the front right tyre, causing them to leave the road and obtain a second flat.
Nic Box and co-driver Caleb Ash also started the event off well, leading many of the stages until the team was issued with a penalty for a missed regroup control, which left them in 13th place overall.
It was then the team of John Macara and co-driver Roger McNaughton who were looking like they had the round tied up in their favour, with almost a three minute lead over Garry Whittle and Stephen Vass, until their Mitsubishi Evo left the road on the last stage and they were unable to finish.
In the end, it was the consistent driving from the Whittle / Vass combination in their Subaru WRX that won the round, with John O’Dowd and co-driver Ben Searcy in second.
“Roads were good, car was good, everything just went well,” said O’Dowd.
“I didn’t drive the first couple of stages as well as I would have liked too, but we got our act together after that.”
“We had a bad start to the year with engine trouble down at the Quit Forest Rally, so we haven’t pulled many points out of the first two rounds at all. This will give us a good bunch of points going forward for sure.”
Upsets were the theme of the day in the 2WD category as well, with Razvan Vlad’s Ford Fiesta and Mark Travers’ Toyota AE86 leaving on tilt trays after the first stage.
Tom Wilde and Nick Clements swapped driving positions in the Honda Civic and went on to find a winning formula.
“Normally Nick drives and I navigate for him,” said Wilde.
“After looking at the results from the weekend, we thought maybe we’ll continue the way we are and see if we can create a stir!
“Nick being a rookie navigator, it took us a while to get into it. After the first three stages we got into a really good groove.
“Collie is my favourite round of the championship, and the conditions this year have been the best I have ever seen it. The way the roads flow and their smoothness just gives you so much grip.”
By the end of the nine stages, Wilde / Clements came away with a seven minute lead in the 2WD category over Shane Harmer and Nicholas Anyan. Alex and Lisa White were third and the new pairing of Andy Van Kann and Madelin Kirkhouse were fourth.
"We were extremely happy with our top 10 finish,” said Van Kann.
“It’s the first time we have teamed up and the very first time Madelin has used JEMBA notes on gravel. We never imagined getting fourth 2WD and ninth outright in our first event together. It was a classic case of discipline brings survival.”
Julian Wright and Ian De Boer in Network IT Datsun 1200 Coupe (Photo: Tim Allott)In the Clubman Cup, the Collie round was also a positive turning point for winners Julian Wright and co-driver Ian De Boer in their Datsun 1200.
“On paper we won Donnelly because we were fastest on the three stages we ran, but the car had a bunch of problems in liaison which left us with penalties,” said De Boer.
“This was the first time I ran Collie on road book and it was definitely a very challenging course to run that way. You really drive by the seat of your pants on road book!
“Apart from having a couple of overshoots on Stage 3, the day went to plan. The car performed well and we basically ran with no major dramas. We had found our rhythm in time for the night stages, and we enjoyed those.
“The Clubman Cup is a great format – family friendly, and with a great bunch of fellow competitors. I’m really enjoying it and looking forward to the next round.”
Almost three minutes behind Wright / De Boer was Jason Lowther and Paul Lowther in a Toyota Corolla. In third place, was last year’s Cup Champions, Carl and Tracey Rattenbury in a Ford Escort.
The Onslow Contracting Western Australian Rally Championship is supported by Healthway and the Quit message, Onslow Contracting, Verandah Apartments, Auto One and Performance Racegear.
For full Experts Cup results see www.rallywa.com and follow the links to the results page.
The LRT Lewana Stages is the next round of the Western Australian Rally Championship and Clubman Cup held on July 25. For more information about this round, please visit the RallyWA website.
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