Western Australia’s youngest ever rally champion, Dylan King, has wrapped up the year with a win in the sixth and final round of the WA 2WD Rally Championship, the Darling 200.
King, who turned 18 last month, battled the hot and dusty conditions in his Ford Escort around Jarrahdale on Saturday. He and co-driver, Andrew Hannigan, claimed fastest times on five out of the six stages.
“We had a lot of fun and came out with the win so we are both very happy,” King said.
While King went into the event with an unassailable lead in the 2012 WA 2WD Driver’s Championship, Hannigan was unable to share championship honours. He was lower on the points table after missing a couple of rallies.
The Co-driver’s Championship was won by Anthony Paynter who called the instructions to Kiel Douglas in a Holden Commodore. The pair finished fifth in the Darling 200.
Other honourable mentions from Saturday’s rally were Julian Wright, in a Datsun 1200, who was second and Sean Keating, in a Nissan Silvia, who finished third and claimed the title of 2012 2WD Challenge winner.
In the Clubman Cup division of the event, Geoff Leatt-Hayter was fastest in his Ford Escort. He finished 25 seconds ahead of nearest rival, Kevin Sleep, in a Honda Civic.
Leatt-Hayter was the 2011 WA Clubman Champion but was absent from rallying for most of 2012. After a bad crash at the end of last year, he spent most of his time building a new rally car.
Meanwhile Matt Snaddon, who drives a Toyota Corolla, had already claimed the 2012 Clubman title and did not compete on Saturday.
The Darling 200 covered almost 90 competitive kilometres. This was the first time the roadbook event had been run as a round of the 2WD Championship.
Clerk of Course, Wendy Walker, said it provided ‘something for everyone’ with its tight and twisty sections and fast, long straights.
Rally WA will present the 2012 WA Rally Championship trophies at their end of season celebrations on Saturday, December 1 at the Mount Lawley Golf Club.
There’s also an information evening for future rally stars on Tuesday, November 20 from 7.30pm at Titan Ford on Leach Highway in Melville. Guest speakers will explain how to get involved in Clubman Cup rallying. Plus there’ll be displays and the chance to win a co-drive in a 2013 rally.
Full results at www.rallywa.com
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