Evans wins opening Australian Rally Championship round
Simon Evans and Ben Searcy have won the opening round of the Australian Rally Championship thanks to a stage-win count back in Western Australia.
Simon Evans, Ben Searcy, Subaru WRX STI
Vettas MEDIA
The four-time series champ Evans (Subaru WRX) didn’t have an easy time of things over in the West; having been beaten to Heat honours on Saturday by second-generation young gun Harry Bates, Evans had to fight back on Sunday.
He managed to do it, finishing more than 40s clear of Bates and co-driver John McCarthy (Toyota Corolla S2000), but the overall result still came down to a stage win count back as both Evans/Searcy and Bates/McCarthy were locked on points after two days of running.
“The young fellas (Bates/McCarthy) just caught us unawares,” said Evans.
“We were pretty happy with our pace, sweeping the roads out the front, and I thought everything was pretty sweet and then someone said ‘Harry’s kicking your butt’ and I was like ‘damn it.’
“It’s a long trip over here [to WA], so you always want to make sure you get some points.I love this, I just love being out here. The way I look at it they’ve closed all the forests off just for me so it’s just fantastic.”
Bates, meanwhile, was still ecstatic with his weekend, despite missing out on round honours.
“Simon and I will leave here on a similar amount of points which for me is obviously still beyond what I expected coming into the weekend, so I think although I’m disappointed I’m not a bit closer to him today and that we couldn’t get that top spot but we still need to be happy with the weekend,” he said.
It was a tie for third as well, with Justin Dowel/Toni Feaver (Hyundai i20) and Molly Taylor/Bill Hayes (Subaru WRX) finishing equal on points. For P3 an accrued time count back was used, Dowel given the nod for the podium, meaning the Taylor just missed out on her debut as a factory Subaru driver.
RESULTS – HEAT 1
Pos | No | Crew | Vehicle | Total Gap 1st |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
6 | BATES MCCARTHY |
Toyota Corolla S2000 |
01:03:27.7 + |
2 |
2 | EVANS SEARCY |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
01:03:28.8 +00:01.1 |
3 |
7 | PEDDER MOSCATT |
Peugeot 208 Maxi |
01:05:06.3 +01:38.6 |
4 |
5 | TAYLOR HAYES |
Subaru WRX STI |
01:05:21.4 +01:53.7 |
5 |
3 | DOWEL FEAVER |
Hyundai i20 |
01:05:24.9 +01:57.2 |
6 |
13 | DUNKERTON DUNKERTON |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
01:08:40.0 +05:12.3 |
7 |
15 | HIGGS PENNY |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
01:13:58.3 +10:30.6 |
8 |
4 | WILDE CLEMENTS |
Subaru WRX STI |
01:17:12.5 +13:44.8 |
9 |
9 | COPPIN KELLY |
Toyota Corolla S2000 |
(-5) 01:14:27.2 + |
10 |
11 | TOSTEVIN ADAMS |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
(-6) 01:16:04.9 + |
HEAT 2
Pos | No | Crew | Vehicle | Total Gap 1st |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | EVANS SEARCY |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
01:06:44.8 + |
2 | 6 | BATES MCCARTHY |
Toyota Corolla S2000 |
01:07:26.6 +00:41.8 |
3 | 3 | DOWEL FEAVER |
Hyundai i20 |
01:08:45.9 +02:01.1 |
4 | 5 | TAYLOR HAYES |
Subaru WRX STI |
01:09:19.2 +02:34.4 |
5 | 4 | WILDE CLEMENTS |
Subaru WRX STI |
01:09:21.7 +02:36.9 |
6 |
9 | COPPIN KELLY |
Toyota Corolla S2000 |
01:09:26.7 +02:41.9 |
7 | 8 | KING HAYES |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
01:09:46.1 +03:01.3 |
8 | 7 | PEDDER MOSCATT |
Peugeot 208 Maxi |
01:11:41.3 +04:56.5 |
9 | 11 | TOSTEVIN ADAMS |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
01:12:45.5 +06:00.7 |
10 |
13 | DUNKERTON DUNKERTON |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
01:13:57.8 +07:13.0 |
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