The final round of the Australian Rally Championship took place in Victoria over the weekend and it was four-time national rally champions Neal Bates and Coral Taylor who sealed victory in the 2012 Australian Classic Rally Challenge series. The duo finished second at the season-closing Rally Victoria, which earned them sufficient points to clinch victory in both the drivers’ and co-drivers’ titles. The Australian Classic Rally Challenge runs as part of the Australian Rally Championship for pre-1986 rally cars. Bates and Taylor won three rallies during the season in their 1980 Toyota Celica RA40, which was hand-built from a bare shell over 18 months and features an authentic World Rally Championship period livery. Bates said he enjoyed competing in the classic section of the ARC. “Coral and I have loved every minute of it,” he said. “The car was absolutely brilliant all year − it’s so much fun to drive, makes a great noise and is sideways a lot, which is pretty spectacular for everyone watching.” Bates and Taylor won the first heat in Victoria before a minor gearshift issue cost them time during the second stage of heat two. They corrected the problem and re-joined the action to finish behind overall event winners Grant Walker and Craig Thomas. “We’ve had the best time this year,” Taylor said. “The main thing for me has been showing off the car to the crowds, who have loved looking at and watching it all season. “It’s been a real pleasure.” Bates and Taylor will announce their motorsport plans for 2013 in the coming months.    

The Snakes Racing Coffs Coast Rally was one event where the highest of highs and the lowest of lows were seen. Some drivers found out how hard the roads can bite while for another the championship was sealed. Jack Monkhouse, one of the competitors fighting it out with the Honda team for two-wheel drive wins, had his worst crash of his career, rolling his Nissan S15 Silvia a number of times and putting him out of the event. The weekend belonged to the leading, and only, works team Honda who finished the event one two and sweeting the deal Eli Evans and Glen Weston took the Bosch ARC Two-Wheel Drive Championship. Honda Australia’s Director and General Manager Sales and Marketing, Mr. Stephen Collins is thrilled to announce that Honda has also won the Manufacturer’s Title for 2012. “What a fantastic result for Honda and Evans Motorsport. Congratulations to Eli and Glen for winning the two-wheel drive championship. “Racing is all about teamwork. These victories are testament to the professionalism of our team at Honda, at Evans Motorsport and the hours of behind the scenes efforts from our partners at Mugen and J.A.S. What a great way to cap off our first year with the G2 Jazz,” Mr. Collins said. With one round left in the 2012 championship, Evans has scored enough points to claim their first overall championship win. “I’m over the moon to win the championship with one round still remaining,” said an excited Evans. “The Hondas did it again! We ran without any problems all weekend. What a fantastic racing machine these Honda Jazz have become.” Co-driver Weston added; “I’m very proud to have helped secure the championship for Honda and Evans Motorsport. Eli drove a superb and fault-free rally. If we keep this form up, I think that we will have a terrific shot at backing up this year’s championship with another one next year!” Team mates Mark Pedder and Claire Ryan also had a successful round, placing second outright for the weekend. They currently sit in second on the championship ladder and if they finish well in Victoria, could take second outright in the two-wheel drive championship. “We had our best result for the year,” Pedder said. “Bringing home a 1-2 for Honda was brilliant. The weekend was huge for Evans Motorsport with Eli and Glen securing the championship.” “I couldn’t be happier for Eli and Glen,” co-driver Ryan added. “They and the team truly deserve the win. Mark and I had a great weekend and are hoping for a 1-2 result for the year at Rally Victoria.” Evans praised his team mates; “To have Mark and Claire there with us on the podium for a 1-2 finish capped off an awesome weekend.” This year, the Bosch ARC ran two championships concurrently; a two and four-wheel drive series. Next year sees the introduction of a two-wheel drive only championship and the G2 Honda Jazz are well placed in this exciting new competition. The final round of the Bosch ARC for 2012 is Rally Victoria, November 15 and 16 in and around the forests of Warragul.

The ARC calendar has been announced and the 2013 championship is to be decided with two wheel drive cars only. Now with the new championship drawing nearer, teams are beginning to break cover on what weaponry they will be running. Nic Box, one of the front-runners in the 2012 Bosch ARC has announced that his Allstar Garage Rally Team is joining with DW Racing to run a two-car team in the 2013 Australian Rally Championship in a pair of Nissan 370Z’s. Box will be behind the wheel of one of the exciting V6 Nissan sports coupes while the other will be steered by fellow WA driver Danny Williamson. The new Nissans will be prepared at Box’s Allstar Garage in Perth and will be built from the ground up to the latest G2 specification taking on the lighter, front wheel drive cars expected to dominate the championship next year. According to Nic Box the 370s will have a weight disadvantage but is confident the high tech 3.7litre V6 engine will reliably produce the horsepower required to be competitive against the smaller, lighter competition. “Nissan has produced a great platform to work with and with the new G2 rules we are excited about what we can do with the 370Z,” said Nic Box. Box is confident that after some development over the first few events next year the Nissans will be mixing it with the top contenders. “Some may see the 370Z as an unusual choice but after a closer look I believe it has real potential and we hope that it will prove to be extremely competitive,” he added. ‘I wouldn’t be interested if I didn’t think the 370Z was capable of winning stages outright”. Nissan Z cars have a long rally heritage stretching back to the 1970s when the Datsun 240Z and 260Z successfully spearheaded the Nissan rally effort worldwide, with Australian legend Ross Dunkerton winning two of his five Australian Rally Championships in Datsun 240Z’s. As it was announced earlier in the year, the 2013 Australian Rally Championship will see the start of a new era, moving away from the dominance of four wheel drive turbo cars over the last three decades to a much broader variety of manufacturers with the new two wheel drive formula. The 370Z’s will be something different again with most cars next year expected to be based on front wheel drive hatchbacks. “The 3.7litre rear wheel drive sports coupe should certainly prove a favourite with spectators thanks to the sideways action and the roar of the high tech V6 engine,” said Nic Box. “Jack Monkhouse in his rear drive Nissan Silvia turbo has proven that cars like this can be competitive in the right hands,” he added. There are more teams, including factory operations that are expected to enter the ARC in 2013. The new formula is looking to be one of the most competitive championships in a long while.

The Australian Rally Championship (ARC) will be heading to every mainland state and a trip to the ACT on its way to crowing a champion in 2013. The six round series will start in early March and finish in the middle of November. With the new calendar being announced by Scott Pedder, it was also a reminder that the 2013 series will also start a new era with two wheel drive cars becoming the only machines eligible to win the Championship, ending almost 30 years of four wheel drive dominance. The 2013 ARC series will also include two International rallies with Rally Australia at Coffs Harbour and the International Rally of Queensland on the Sunshine Coast as well as now traditional rounds in WA’s South West corner, the Adelaide Hills in South Australia and Victoria’s Gippsland. “With the World Motor Sport Council announcing Rally Australia will run from 13-15th September, we have now finalised our 2013 ARC calendar with six events spanning nine months and we are very pleased to welcome Canberra back onto the schedule,” said Scott Pedder. “The National Capital Rally will be an exciting addition to the championship with strong support from the ACT Government as part of the Canberra Centenary celebrations and using classic rally roads many of which are only minutes from the centre of the city,” he added. “Rally Calder will not run in 2013, however we believe it is likely to return at some point in the future because the concept is a good one, however at this point in time, with the series still in rebuilding mode, I believe the championship should remain at six rounds to help nurture that rebuilding process,” he said. “With the backing of the ACT Government it was important to welcome Canberra back as this was one of the iconic rounds of the championship for many years. “With a number of new manufacturers and teams coming on board in 2013 and the need to keep budgets at a reasonable and manageable level we felt it was not yet time to expand to seven rounds. “Eventually in the next few years I see the Championship expanding to seven or more rallies and see no reason why we shouldn’t have a round in say the Northern Territory and also return the series to Tasmania,” Scott Pedder added. “I believe that with more manufacturers coming into the championship they will want us to reach as many of their customers as possible so expansion will be on the agenda,” he said. “Six events across six states the series is a truly national championship and is well positioned to really blossom in coming years,” he concluded. The 2013 Australian Rally Championship will kick off in Canberra with the National Capital Rally on 1-3 March before moving across the continent just over a month later for the Quit Forest Rally at Busselton in WA on 5th – 7th April. Scouts Rally SA will be round three of series, moving from its traditional July date to the 24th-26th May in the Adelaide Hills while the International Rally of Queensland will run from 12th -14th July on the Sunshine Coast. While Rally Australia will host the world’s best rally drivers and cars at Coffs Harbour from 12th – 15th September it will also see Australia’s top crews battling it out for round five of the ARC with the final round based in the Gippsland town of Warragul in Victoria on 15th -16th November. 2013 Australian Rally Championship Schedule 1-3 March                   National Capital Rally, ACT 5-7 April                     QUIT Forest Rally, WA 24-26 May                  SCOUTS Rally SA 12-14 July                   International Rally of Queensland, Qld 12-15 September      Rally Australia, NSW 15-16 Nov                   Rally Victoria, Victoria    

The latest round of the Bosch Australian Rally Championship was run in South Australia last week and it was a local domination in the Kumho Future Champions awards. Taking out the four wheel drive class were James Rodda and the two wheel drive class when to Guy Tyler. Both drivers were awarded a set of Kumho rally tyres valued at $1000 at the end of the three days of competition to assist them in their rally careers. Rodda competed in the opening round of the championship, Rally Calder, and finished second but there was no stopping him on home soil in his Subaru Impreza WRX STi after having what he described as a faultless weekend. “We had a solid weekend,” said Rodda. “I didn’t make any mistakes and I think we’ve had a really successful weekend. “We came here with the goal of winning both the RAJC and the South Australian Rally Championship round, and we’ve done just that.” Rodda will face the respective RAJC four wheel drive winners from Rally Calder, the Quit Forest Rally Dane Berry, Dan Day and two yet to be named wild cards in the Rallyschool Australian Junior Challenge final at the Snake Racing Rally Coffs event in October. The winner of the final in both four wheel drive and two wheel drive will receive a fully prepared entry for the final round of the Bosch Australian Rally Championship, Rally Victoria, as well as a day of tuition for the driver and co-driver at Rallyschool.com.au, a test of the Simon Evans Mazda2 and a set of Kumho rally Tyres. “We’ve got to get organised for Coffs Harbour now so we can give it a good shot,” he added. “It’s definitely a worthwhile prize.” In the two wheel drive RAJC, regular two wheel drive contender Guy Tyler broke through in his Renault Clio for the win and will face Michael Busby, Dylan King, Steve Mackenzie and two wild cards at Snake Rally Coffs. Tyler overcame gearbox and clutch issues on the second day of competition and managed to push on to claim the two wheel drive win. “We never gave up and we got through it,” said Tyler. “We had a hard day on Saturday. We were down to third gear only and then the clutch broke but after all that we’ve come out on top of the juniors. “We’re definitely looking forward to the final at Coffs Harbour after finally qualifying!”