Their 30 second win over Geoff Leatt-Hayter in a Ford Escort was the second in a row for Team Travers who, last month, won the Carringtons Traffic Services Safari Rally around Chidlow. It was their third victory of the six-event season.
At the Darling 200, Travers and Travers took three out of six fastest stage times in their Toyota Sprinter and Mark said the only issue they had for the event was a slight off on the second stage.
“It was a bit slippery with us being the first car on the road,” he said. “The rest was pretty cruisy.”
Mark acknowledged his talented wife after the win and thanked Simon Lowther from LRT Custom Engineering: “Without him, I probably wouldn’t have been able to rally this year.”
The Travers’ biggest competition for championship honours, Steve Vass in a Datsun 1600 and Carl Rattenbury in a Ford Escort, both suffered mechanical issues at the Darling 200. Vass well off the pace with a clutch issue. He finished ninth overall and dropped from first to third in the championship.
Rattenbury’s car had an issue with the fuel pressure regulator. He finished third at the Darling 200 and second in the championship.
Hugh Harmer was fourth in a Holden Commodore and claimed the title of Clubman Cup Rookie of the Year. His rookie rival Mike Nairn, withdrew on the second last stage after his Toyota Corolla left the road.
Meanwhile, Shane Eather, competing in his first event of the year, went out fast from the start in his Daihatsu 200B. Unfortunately the car suffered a flat tyre on stage three. Eather dropped over five minutes and finished fifth.
The Darling 200 was also the final event of the season for WARC’s 2WD competition. Thankfully for Razvan Vlad he had claimed championship honours before the rally as his Ford Fiesta suffered gear box issues and he was forced out on the first stage.
Sean Keating, who had already snared second place in the championship, also bowed out of the Darling 200. His Nissan Silvia overheated and lost power.
Kiel Douglas took the 2WD win in a Holden Commodore. It was his first victory of the 2013 season but wasn’t without its challenges. His car lost the use of its onboard rally computer and the engine overheated. Douglas’ service team used ice packs to cool the motor.
“We went out full steam [after service] and took fastest time on stage four and had a ball on stages five and six despite running out of tyres very quickly.”
“It was grins from ear to ear with Marc [Louden] doing a great job calling the notes.”
Stephen Wade was second in a Ford Fiesta he had imported from the UK. It was the Irish driver’s first rally in Australia.
Leo Iriks was third in a Ford Escort and claimed the 2WD Challenge honours.
WA’s rally competitors will collect their championship trophies at the RallyWA End of Season Celebration at the Mt Lawley Golf Club on Saturday, November 30. Tickets are available at www.rallywa.com.
Full results at www.rallywa.com
Photo: Tim Allott
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