Thanks to our friends at MAX Cases, we’re giving you the chance to vote for the crew who you think had the most significant service feat of Rally Queensland.
The winner of your vote will receive a brand new MAX Case valued at almost $400 for their future rally efforts.
Our two candidates are the J & S Rally Team of Michelle Van Der Wilk and Kass Brumley and the R & B Motorsport crew of Ryan Williams and Brad Jones.
The J & S Rally Team crew, like most rally teams, is a small team that all put in a power of work leading up to the rally, as well as during this long Rally Queensland to help ensure a result for Michelle and Kass.
A small suspension refresh in their Subaru before the event turned into a much bigger job than initially planned, as they uncovered many more issues.
“It turned out to be a much bigger job than anticipated, with all the seals in very bad shape and one shock out of gas,” Michelle explained.
“The guys from MCA were fabulous. They not only fixed the shock but gave us all a hands-on lesson on how to correctly install the seals and regrease the suspension.”
With the typical plans of ‘have fun and get to the end’ in their minds, Michelle and Kass suffered some white line fever on the Kandanga stage, and decided to ‘have a go’ over a jump.
A heavy landing caused a bad knock underneath the car, and they slowed to ensure they could get back to service.
It turns out they had destroyed a front control arm bush on the landing, but with it all fixed, they expected a quiet finish to the day.
By the end of the final dusty stage of Saturday, the control official informed them that they were in fact on fire.
The steering boot was on fire and the CV was without its boot. A cracked turbo feed pipe caused the fire, and the engine was lucky to survive the final stage with very little oil.
Their service team yet again worked tirelessly to repair the car to get back out for Sunday’s stages. It was past midnight before the crew called it quits with their issues still unsolved.
At 6am on the Sunday, a fellow competitor, Jamie Neale, came to the rescue and delivered their missing part – a new tie rod end – and the crew soon had the car back out of morning service on time for the first special stage.
With the help of not only her crew but many other people from around the service park, Michelle is extremely grateful for the support she received over the weekend and overcame a lot of adversity to be able to finish the rally.
“I have an awesome crew who I cannot thank enough for their hard work. We belong to an amazing rally community.”
Van Der Wilk’s final result was not as intended, however, the team’s determination to keep the car going after hard landings, fires and engine troubles are all commendable.
For the Williams and Jones duo, it was a difficult event. Their service crew also deserves mention and praise.
Despite their struggle to get to the event, they were committed to giving it their all for the whole weekend as well as helping out those around them, including Production Cup winner, Bodie Reading.
They were fast out of the blocks, and at one point were sitting third outright, but rolled on the fourth stage of the rally.
“Our service crew had to find corflute signs to tape onto the broken rear and side windows,” co-driver Brad Jones said.
“They also had to fix the rear trailing arm, which was damaged in the rollover.
“This was on top of all the regular servicing checks – the boys and girls were flat out, and did an incredible job to get us back out on time!”
From there, the service crew drove an hour south to Nambour to pick up a replacement driver’s door and returned back just in time for the evening service.
With their Saturday completed, they hoped for a quiet Sunday.
“We looked after the service crew on Sunday as we didn’t want to throw it into the trees like we did the day before,” Jones laughed.
Although, their Sunday wasn’t trouble-free. A double puncture forced them to drive the last two stages with only three inflated wheels.
While they were able to do this successfully, a post-event protest saw them disqualified. It was the final straw of a crazy weekend.
The two teams between them dealt with fire, crashes, suspension problems and punctures and are worthy of your votes for the MAX Case prize.
Vote below for which service crew you think are most deserving of this award.
View the MAX Case HERE.
RallySport Magazine’s Special Stage podcast is supported by MAX Cases Australia, and is available on all your favourite podcast platforms.
It’s available at the below links:
Spotify: LISTEN
Apple: LISTEN
Amazon: LISTEN
