MOTORSPORT: Evans claims ARC crown

Honda Jazz driver Eli Evans, along with co-driver Glenn Weston, has taken yet another overall Australian Rally Championship (ARC) round victory, this time at Coates Hire Rally Australia.

Classified as an ‘endurance’ event, round four of the ARC saw crews tackle the same Coffs Coast roads as the World Rally Championship competitors over the weekend (September 12-15) over three key ‘heats’ (there’s normally two) run from the Friday to the Sunday.

The Thursday was dedicated to the Pedders Power Stage, a short test designed for television with the extra carrot of championship points on offer for the top three finishers.

It was here that Evans and his Jazz stamped their authority, taking five extra championship points by completing the test at the top of the timesheets. He was followed by the rear-wheel drive Nissan Silvia S15 of fan-favourites Jack Monkhouse and Ben Atkinson and Renault Clio-mounted Scott Pedder/Dale Moscatt – Evans/Weston’s primary championship rivals.

After a run through the Armor All Super Special Stage on the Thursday night, crews headed out into the forest roads south of Coffs Harbour for Friday’s Leg One.

Evans immediately showed his intentions, taking the opening stage win, an 8.44km test known as Tuckers Nob, but it was the morning’s second stage – the 10.72km Bellingen – where the domination Evans has enjoyed for the best part of two years was first threatened, with youngster Tom Wilde and co-driver Bill Hayes heading the times in their Renault Clio.

Through the longer 24.91km Newry, it was the other Clio of Pedder/Moscatt which took the lead, a convincing 13.9 seconds ahead of Evans, indicating that the recent development work on the Clio G2 racers was paying off. It would prove to be a highpoint for the Renaults…

Evans reasserted his authority on the next test, while Scott Pedder rolled his Clio out of contention, leaving his teammate Wild and the Mazda2 of Brendan Reeves/Rhianon Smyth to challenge the dominant Honda Jazz.

By the end of Leg One, Evans held a 30.5-second lead over the Mazda, 44.2 over Wilde.

Leg Two offered perhaps the hardest test of the weekend with two passes over the imposing 49.9km Nambucca stage. It was here where Reeves could take the battle up to the Jazz, and he completed the stage in 31:41.8 to be – incredibly – one-tenth of a second ahead of a resurgent Scott Pedder, his Clio repaired overnight. Evans was third, only 1.8 seconds further back.

Evans bit back on the 14.84km Valla, but Reeves once more took Nambucca in the afternoon, this time by 5.4 seconds over Evans as the Renaults again faltered with exhaust issues.

The Leg Two heat points would come down to the final two runs over the 1.6km Super Special Stage, run through the centre of Coffs Harbour township. After a day’s toil, it was Reeves who took the heat victory, finishing the day 1.5 seconds clear of Evans after more than 130km of competition.

Out on Sunday’s Leg Three, this time held north of Coffs over a final three stages, Evans took the first 0.1 ahead of Pedder, who took the second (his Renault repaired once more) and Reeves claimed the third and final stage, proving just how close the top three cars are on pace as the season wears on.

With organisers cutting the final stages of the day (due to excessive dust), the event ended with overall victory for Evans, his 11th straight ARC round victory. With it, he took his second consecutive championship.

“It’s such a great feeling!” said Evans. “It’s been a tough year. Even though we’ve won every rally this year, it hasn’t been easy at all -- I’ve just been very fortunate to have a dream run.

“All the guys (in the team) have put in such a great effort, and the Honda Jazz never let me down. I can’t thank Honda enough for all their support over the last four years, and this is a great way to reward them with our 11th straight win and two championships in a row.”

Reeves, who finished runner-up after his heat win, was equally content.

“A really good result and to yesterday win my first heat of the ARC, that’s nice to finally have under my belt,” he said. “The car has been getting faster and I felt more comfortable in it this weekend. The team has done a great job and this is a great result!”

The final podium place was taken by Wilde, who has continued to improve with experience.

“An awesome result and we’ve had a great run all weekend,” he said. “This is probably the best I’ve driven all year. I’m feeling confident and I’ll head into Rally Victoria, on roads I love over there, looking to go even better,” Wilde added.

Rally Victoria, the final round of the ARC to be held over November 15-16, will also mark the last time Honda runs as a factory team before bowing out of the competition.

It’s not all bad news, however, as the rumour mill suggests the cars may be run by private hands, joining a strengthening entry that includes a factory effort from Citroen.

See results from the WRC that also ran on the weekend in Coffs Harbour

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