WA’s Brad Markovic and Glenn Macneall will be the only WA pairing when they head to Adelaide for round four of the Kumho Tyre Australian Rally Championship (ARC), Lightforce Rally SA, from September 9 to 11.
Macneall (left) and Markovic will contest Rally SA in their Maximum Motorsport Subaru.Maximum Motorsport team mate Tom Wilde, who is fourth on the championship leaderboard, will not compete due to financial constraints.
“Unfortunately, Tom has been unable to raise the budget to continue in the series,” Maximum Motorsport team manager Dean Herridge said.
“It’s really disappointing as we’ve been very pleased with his results to this point and it is a shame to park is car up while still in with chance of the title.”
Herridge said every effort was being made to secure support for some form of program next year.
Meanwhile Markovic is keen to get back behind the wheel after an almost three-month mid-season break for competitors.
The Subaru WRX STI driver has used the time to refocus on his ARC goals. Markovic also entered a round of the WA Rally Championship, the Quit Experts Cup around Collie, and finished second.
“That was a nice little confidence boost,” he said.
Markovic had previously acknowledge he was lacking confidence after a tough start to the 2016 competition.
In April, his car was destroyed by a freak fire at the Quit Forest Rally. Then in May, he was first on the scene of another competitor’s car fire at the National Capital Rally.
“I’m really looking forward to Rally SA as it’s the event that’s most like WA,” Markovic said.
While Markovic has also been working on his fitness over the mid-season break, his world-class co-driver Glenn Macneall has been all over the globe.
Macneall has been competing in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship with India’s Gaurav Gill and in the Finnish Rally Championship with Japan’s Hiroki Arai.