MOTORSPORT: Molly Taylor crowned Aussie rally champ

Molly Taylor has become the first female winner of the Australian Rally Championship – in a production class Subaru WRX STI – after the tightest ARC title fight in 25 years.

“Dreams really do come true,” the 28-year-old Sydney driver said after her success, clinched at the weekend’s Rally Australia.

Daughter of multiple national champion co-driver Coral Taylor, who guided Canberra’s Neal Bates to ARC driver titles, she made history with her title by winning the national division in the country’s round of the World Rally Championship at Coffs Harbour on NSW’s north coast.

It was an immaculate drive over 23 stages with former West Australian policeman Bill Hayes calling the pace notes to her that saw her defeat rivals Harry Bates, son of Neal, and veteran Simon Evans, a multiple national champion.

“Talk about taking it down to the wire!” Taylor said.

“We knew we had to give it everything on the last two stages after a really consistent run all weekend and we pushed so hard.

“Then to get the news that there was a possible penalty for Mark [Pedder, who had led the ARC competitors in the event] ... it was like being on a rollercoaster.”

Pedder, who drove a Peugeot 208 MAXI, incurred a one minute time penalty after competition finished.

That put Taylor on 329 championship points, early leader Evans – who had lost 10 minutes with double punctures on his Subaru Impreza on Saturday – on 327 and Bates in a Super 2000 Toyota Corolla on 321.

After five rounds across the country the championship had come down to the final two stages of Rally Australia, totalling just 12.44km.

Taylor needed to overhaul Pedder to have enough points to claim the title.

The timing inquiry immediately post-event left the Subaru team sweating and they were only told they were champions as they waited their turn to drive on to the podium in the centre of Coffs Harbour.

Taylor drove much of the event with her car’s heater on in an effort to cool an overheating engine.

The four-wheel-drive Subaru was prepared for the manufacturer and Taylor and Hayes by long-time Tasmanian rally entrant Les Walkden.

Subaru won 10 consecutive ARC titles from 1996 to 2005 with late New Zealand driver Possum Bourne and Australian Cody Crocker before withdrawing from domestic rallying.

“We’re so pleased to be able to do it for Subaru with their incredible rally heritage,” Taylor said.

“Bill, Les Walkden and the team have done an amazing job all year and it’s such a pleasure to work with a truly professional outfit that has an amazing team spirit.”

Subaru Australia managing director Colin Christie said: “We’re ecstatic with this result on so many levels.

“It’s wonderful for Molly to not only win the drivers’ championship, but also become the first female to do so and we’re honoured to have such a fantastic role model to inspire young people.

“Equally, we’re proud of Bill in taking out the co-drivers’ championship.

“Together Bill and Molly have worked as a wonderful partnership throughout the season and it’s a great credit to them that they have seized their respective titles.

“Les Walkden and his team have displayed tremendous professionalism all year and we’re delighted with their achievements on behalf of Subaru do Motorsport.

“It’s all been underpinned by the great engineering and reliability of the production class WRX STI – we couldn’t ask for a better advert for this incredibly versatile car.

“And we’re also honoured that, after more than 10 years out of domestic rallying, Subaru has returned to continue its unbroken run of championship wins.”