Ballarat driver, Darren Windus, is aiming to build on his third placing in the Australian Rally Championship when the series resumes in Canberra this weekend.
After securing a podium finish at the opening round in Western Australia last month, Windus and co-driver, Daniel Brick, will head into this weekend's National Capital Rally full of confidence.
Improving their chances will be a switch of rally cars for the Western Victorian Crane Trucks-supported team.
Their 20-year old Subaru Impreza WRX has been benched for this weekend, with a current model Hyundai i20 their weapon of choice as they battle the two-car factory Toyota Australia team and the factory Subaru squad.
Windus has driven the Hyundai in several rallycross events over the past two years, but his Activ Rallysport team have converted it to forest rally spec for this weekend.
"I did a test recently in Mt Gambier and the car was incredible," Windus said.
"Compared to the Subaru, it has more power, is around 200 kilograms lighter and has more suspension travel, so in theory it should be faster too.
"It's also a shorter wheelbase car and changes direction a lot faster than the Subaru, which is important on narrow and twisty roads like we'll get in Canberra."
Lying third in the six-round championship after the first round means there's still plenty to play for.
While the factory Toyotas of brothers Harry and Lewis Bates dominated in WA, the often rough and rugged stages in Canberra mean that reliability will be a key.
"I'd be disappointed if we can't be right near the pace of the Toyotas," Windus added.
"We're not going to Canberra to finish fourth or fifth, so we'll be pushing hard.
"I love the roads in Canberra and have done well there in past years, so if we can have a clean run, then we should be able to achieve a similar result."
The National Capital Rally will be held over eight stages this Saturday, May 11, with a total competitive distance of 144 kilometres.
Further details on the National Capital Rally can be found HERE.
Australian Rally Championship pointscore after Round 1 of 6
1. Harry Bates, Toyota, 81 points
2. Lewis Bates, Toyota, 68 points
3. Darren Windus, Subaru, 52 points
3. Tom Wilde, Subaru, 52 points
5. Molly Taylor, Subaru, 46 points
5. John O'Dowd, Skoda, 46 points
Darren Windus with son, Arron, at a rallycross event last year.
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Lying third in the six-round championship after the first round means there's still plenty to play for.
While the factory Toyotas of brothers Harry and Lewis Bates dominated in WA, the often rough and rugged stages in Canberra mean that reliability will be a key.
