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'Respect Yourself' Forest Rally - Heat 1

Australian Rally Championship http://www.rally.com.au ----------------------------------------------------------- Bourne Blitzes First Forest Heat Reigning title-holder, Possum Bourne, has stamped his authority on the 1999 Australian Rally ...

Edited: May 8, 2001, 12:19 PM

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Australian Rally Championship http://www.rally.com.au -----------------------------------------------------------

Bourne Blitzes First Forest Heat

Reigning title-holder, Possum Bourne, has stamped his authority on the 1999 Australian Rally Championship with a convincing win in the first day of the 1999 Respect Yourself Forest Rally.

The New Zealander took the initiative from the start, opening up an early lead over arch rival Neal Bates and extending it stage-by-stage to win Heat One with a commanding 55 second advantage.

Bates pushed his Toyota Corolla WRC (World Rally Car) hard but Bourne was never threatened, demonstrating his Subaru Impreza WRC's supremacy by winning one stage with a massive 25 second margin.

Bourne was fastest in all but one of Heat One's eight stages, covering the day's 96.30 kilometres of competitive rallying in 48 minutes and four seconds, but Bates managed to save some face by storming the day's final stage one second quicker than Bourne.

After a rally-long battle South Australia's Ed Ordynski pulled out all the stops to hold off a late charge by Victorian Cody Crocker to finish in third spot and take the day's honours for Group N cars.

The minor placings saw something of an upset with Queenslander Stewart Reid giving up a certain fifth spot when his Mitsubishi Lancer failed in the middle of the final stage while Ross MacKenzie's position as the leading Western Australian driver slipped from his grasp after a blinding last-minute dash by Dean Herridge.

Bates has the opportunity to turn the tables on Bourne and win some sorely needed Championship points tomorrow (Sunday) with the running of the second heat of the two-day event in the forests near Mundaring Weir.

The event concludes around noon with a gala champagne finish scheduled for 1.30pm at the Novotel Vines Resort in the Swan Valley.

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