Ballarat's Arron Windus is hoping to extend his Victorian Rally Championship lead when the series continues on home soil this weekend.
Driving his Western Victorian Crane Trucks-sponsored Subaru Impreza WRX, Windus currently holds a 14 point lead at the half-way point of the six-round series.
Together with co-driver Daniel Brick, Windus will start as the top seed in the Pedders Eureka Rush, an event which is also a round of the Asia Pacific, and Australian rally championships.
The 23-year old's father, Darren, will be the car directly behind Arron in the field, and will drive a Super 2000 specification Volkswagen Polo.
"The car is ready to go, and I can't wait to get cracking on home roads this weekend," Arron said.
"We have a slender lead in the Victorian championship and we'll be hoping to consolidate that with another strong performance at our home event.
"Some of the roads we have rallied on before, and that knowledge should give us a small advantage.
"Having said that, we'll need to drive well as the conditions are likely to be slippery after plenty of recent rain."
Arron and Daniel have refined their pace noting system considerably this season, with small improvements likely to transfer into faster stage times.
"We've really worked hard on them," Arron added.
"In rallying it's all about consistency. That might only relate to half a second here and there over a stage, but the time adds up and can make a big difference."
Both Windus' will run their cars on Hoosier tyres in the Ballarat event, which should suit the damp conditions well.
Although Hoosier are still relatively new to rallying, the American brand is making big steps forward.
Darren Windus is aiming for a top two finish in his home event. Photo: Dave King.
After a good run at the Batemans Bay Rally last month, Darren Windus and co-driver Joe Brick (Daniel's father) have their sights set firmly on a top two finish in the Victorian component of the rally.
"There's a lot of uphill roads in this rally, where the Super 2000 car isn't that strong, but we'll make up some of that disadvantage on the downhill sections," Darren said.
"The car was great at the Bay, and it will be fast again here.
"I don't think we'll have the pace of Arron in the Subaru, but we'll give him a good run for his money."
The Eureka Rush will start late on Saturday with a double-run Super Special Stage at the Ballarat West Employment Zone (BWEZ).
Sunday’s eight special stages start at 9:30am with 120 kilometres of stages throughout the day.
Journeying west and north for a further three stages, the cars return to Beaufort for the mid-morning service break.
Repeating the loop in the early afternoon, the return to the service park is then followed by the 4pm central Beaufort ceremonial finish.
Several prime spectator points include one adjacent to the service park, and more details can be found at www.rally.com.au
https://rallysportmag.com/toyotas-harry-bates-reveals-2020-wrc-plans/
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