Despite not having competed since late last year, Lewis Parin and Sarah Ann Furniss brought their Evo 3 home to 7th outright SARC at the Toyota Kluger Rally of South Australia last weekend.
The event kicked off with a Super Special Stage at Angaston on the Friday night. Although the Velocity Racing team was off to a shaky start, stalling the car round the first hairpin of the tarmac stage, the atmosphere at the venue was awesome and put the team in a great mood for the first gravel stages on Saturday morning.
“As soon as we hit the gravel on Saturday I felt so much more comfortable,” Lewis commented, and their stage times were proving it. Throughout the day the team traded times with some of the top SARC contenders. “The only real problem we had was a flat tyre which happened just after the start of our third pass through Ridgetops Reverse,” said Sarah. “It cost us a bit of time and took part of the rear bumper off with it, but at least it was easy to fix!”
Lewis really enjoyed the fast flowing nature of the Saturday stages including Mount Gawler and Cromer. The team also loved Forties Reverse and Ridgetops Reverse, the repeated forestry stages. “There is nothing I don’t love about this event,” said Lewis. “The nature of the roads used perfectly suits our car’s set-up and my driving style.”
Saturday evening saw crews return to Angaston for another two laps round the Super Special stage, and after a disappointing run the night before, the team wanted to improve on their time. However the rain set in right as they hit the track and the tarmac got slippery very quickly. “We were coming round a big sweeping left hander and the car just started sliding,” Lewis said. “We hit the big steel barrier pretty hard, knocked that over and kept going.” The damage was minimal and the team finished the heat. “It certainly wasn’t one of our best moments,” Sarah added, “but the crowd loved it and I am sure it made for some great video footage!”
The team agreed to take it fairly easy through the final stages on Sunday. With long stages such as the infamous Eden High, they knew people were bound to be caught out. “We had broken a small suspension component and just wanted to finish the event,” Sarah said. “We were using MRF tyres for the first time, and they were working really well,” Lewis added. The team was able to set quick stage times without needing to push themselves too hard. “I am very impressed with the level of grip the MRF’s offered.”
Velocity Racing’s goals for the event were to bring the car home in one piece and place somewhere in the top ten for SARC. “We were absolutely stoked with 7th place and cannot wait to compete again at Kuitpo later this year.”
Velocity Racing is supported by Solar Eggs, Autosport, Pedders Suspension Modbury, SA Motorsport Tyres and Daimo DeSigns. Visit the team online at www.myspace.com/velocity_racing
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