MOTORSPORT: State of Origin on dirt
Forget the Rugby League there was a different kind of state-verses-state battle in Bega last weekendTeams from New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria converged on last weekend's Bega Valley Rally to contest a different kind of 'State-of-Origin' than the one played out in Etihad Stadium. The teams were all driving Hyundai Excel rally cars in the Hyundai Interstate Challenge run as part of the rally.
Unlike the football it was New South Wales that came out on top. The Blues more experienced team was in control throughout the event and took four of the top five places. Leading the charge was reigning NSW Hyundai Rally Series champion Mick Gillett and his navigator Harvey Smith.
The pair also won the Hyundai World Rally Series Cup despite having to stop to assist a fellow competitor that had stopped on the third stage with a mechanical problem but hadn’t noticed their car was also on fire.
"We spent about 15 seconds stopped yelling to them that they had a fire, I could see the co-driver kicking the fire out with his feet before we took off again," Smith explained. "It took about another 1km to get settled into the car and back on the job"
The pair lost enough time to allow Stephen Horobin and co-driver Kirrilee Gentleman to take the win on the road but rally officials awarded the Gillett/Smith crew a compassionate time for assisting their rivals which handed them the win.
Gillett has already begun work on a new Hyundai i30 rally car for next year to step up from his Excel.
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