ATC UPDATE: Sharing the stage with WRC

Location: Tweed Heads, New South Wales
Dateline: Sunday, September 6, 2009 -- 1:21pm

With the Renault Clio R27 back in action on Saturday, Steve and I arose at dawn to drive from Coffs Harbour north-east to Grafton to get back into the thick of the competition with our second hill climb event before the grand finale -- a timed lap of the World Rally Championship (WRC) super special stage at dusk in Murwillumbah.

After a short drive (comparatively speaking) we arrived at the Grafton hill climb course which was much longer and steeper than the first hill climb event at Raymond Terrace. The weather was fairer with sunny skies overhead.

The 'Motorsport' category cars went in first at around 9:30am, with the Mitsubishi Evos, VW R32s and Subaru STIs popping and backfiring their way around the course with a lot of commotion.

We were up next as part of the 'street' category, in which our four-cylinder Renault Clio was up against vehicles such as a Porsche Cayman S, a pair of BMW M3s, Holden Monaros and more.

Steve was first in the hill climb and after snapping a few shots of him on the starting line I headed down to the staging area in preparation for my own run. Compared to our closest rival in the form of the Ford Focus ST170, the Renault R27 looked slightly sharper and Steve gave me the inside word on the first section: "Leave it in first gear up the hill."

With traction control switched off to avoid bogging down off the start line, the Clio went gangbusters when the revs passed 5000rpm, and revved crisply past 7000rpm through the first section. I briefly touched third gear through the central straight but the tight and twisting track was basically all first and second gear.

We all got two runs and to call the Grafton hill climb fun would be an understatement. Sliding the Clio through some of the sections also highlighted the car's excellent feel.

After posting excellent times, besting the likes of a BMW M3, and with just a tenth of a second separating the Grafton times (Steve just ahead), we felt well and truly pumped to be back competing after the starter motor died 32 hours earlier.

The next event was to be held at Casino airport, in the form of auto tests, but word came through from the organisers that two local residents were not happy about the event and so it was cancelled.

So we then made our way up the coast toward Murwillumbah for the final two-kilometre WRC street course.

Excited would be an understatement to describe how we were feeling about going hammer and tongs around the street circuit. The ATC cars started lining up at around 4:30pm, with a two-hour window to get all fifty or so cars through the course before the WRC drivers such as Sebastian Loeb and Mikko Hirvonnen would take their turns.

Minutes before show time, one bloke in the crowd leaned over the barrier to wish us luck, saying he had a Clio parked around the corner. Some of the first guys out who returned said the course was "sensational" but that did little to quell the nerves as a marshall mouthed "10 seconds!"

Three-two-one-GO! Foot to the floor, the Clio screeched away from the start towards the first corner, which crept up all too quickly. Mashing the brake pedal followed by some heavy lock on the tiller saw the car screech around first the corner and it was then that I glimpsed the crowds and a huge smile broke out my face.

Winding out second gear and heading towards the first chicane, the nerves dissipated and as camera flashes illuminated the dusk course, the car felt perfect as the circuit unfolded in front of me.

Most impressive was the way the car pulled up, the Brembo brakes allowing me to dive into the corners with confidence.

By the time I crossed the flying finish and was waved over by the marshals, it dawned on me that very few people (and few uncaged factory standard cars) had ever had the chance to blitz around an international course, complete with the official timing. Stay tuned for the overall results.

At the end of the event, both Steve and I came away feeling elated and keen to return in 2010. We're yet to broach the topic of turbocharging the Clio R27 with Renault, but you never know you're luck in the big city!

The organization of the Australian Tarmac Challenge was very impressive, from the first night of scrutineering to the final flag on the WRC super special stage.

Big thanks must go to Race Solutions, who handled all the competition logistics, the passionate and friendly volunteers and big ups to Mat and Mossy at ATC who helped us organise the Renault-Carsales entry.

With our competition over we had the chance to take in the World Rally boys on Sunday morning (thanks to Chris Nixon and the Repco Rally Australia media crew for the tickets). The run from Tweed Heads to Kyogle to reach the special stages was worth the trip itself, with a snaking road leading to the town.

After focusing on the competitive events in the ATC it was great to throw the Clio around in some real-world conditions. Steve grabbed the keys and was clearly enjoying the impressive road holding of the R27 and the surprisingly flexible engine.

Once we reached Kyogle we were able to find the CTEK stage viewing point (after an unplanned short cut down a gravel road, on which the Renault once again excelled) and witness some of the world's best drivers moving faster on gravel than you would think is possible.

The crowd, as well as the towns of Kyogle and Kingscliff, were incredibly supportive of the rally, despite the highly vocal protests of a minority. The Tweed region really embraced the event and proved a great new home for Rally Australia.

As for the much talked about protesters they ended up looking foolish. Throwing rocks at cars was not only poor form it was downright dangerous. Not only did they vandalise seemingly every road sign on the road to Kyogle they continued protesting until the bitter end. But the fact that a group of less than 20 dissenters yelled as a crowd over 5000 strong cheered on the podium presentation was an indication of the true feelings of the Tweed community.

As with any motor racing team there a lot of people to thank for helping us get into and through the event.

First up we have to say a big thank you to Renault Australia, especially Julie Leconte, for providing the car and keeping us in the competition when things didn't go to plan.

Thanks also to Revolution Racegear North Melbourne for helping with safety equipment we needed.

Steve would also like to thank Mark Winterbottom for the lend of the helmet and Ken Block and Kate Engelsman at DC Shoes for providing him with a pair of DC Pro Spec 1.0 racing shoes (which proved a valuable tool).

Taking in the closing day of the WRC was a great way to end and amazing four days. We're already looking forward to the final ATC event for the year at Lang Lang in late November.

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