Rally championship decider set

The 2006 NEC Australian Rally Championship has gone down to the wire with this weekend's final round of the title, the NGK Rally of Melbourne, the decider.

The winner of the driver's title will be crowned after 208 competitive kilometres and two gruelling heats over fast and flowing forestry roads to the northest of Melbourne.

Toyota Racing Development driver Simon Evans (pictured) heads into the final round with a slim 16 points lead over TRD team boss Neal Bates (Evans 170; Bates 154).

Maximum Motorsport driver Dean Herridge in a privately entered Subaru WRX is third on the points ladder (148), and Team Mitsubishi Ralliart's Scott Pedder is fourth (113).

A 50 per cent bonus points system for the final round means there is a maximum of 61.5 points on offer, and with 57 points separating the top four, all four still have a mathematical chance of winning the 2006 driver's title.

Victorian local Evans has firmed as the Championship favourite courtesy of his consistent podium finishes over the 2006 Super Series (two round wins and four heat wins). However, picking a winner in Melbourne is made harder by the fact that no driver has dominated the 2006 championship -- in fact there have been four different winners from the previous five rounds.

Evans has claimed wins in Queensland and WA while Bates took out Rally Canberra and Herridge the Tasmanian round. Subaru privateer Steve Glenney claimed the recent round win in South Australia.

If Evan wins, it will be his first Australian Rally Championhip title, and will be only the second time in history that a husband and wife team have won the Australian Rally Championship; David 'Dinta' and Kate Officer were the first in 1968.

Although Mitsubishi's Scott Pedder has not won a round of the NEC ARC this year, he has scored three podium finishes and won heats at each of the past three rounds of the championship.

"Like myself, Simon Evans is from Melbourne and I'm sure he'd love to finish the championship by winning his home rally just as much as I would, "said Pedder, whose team's headquarters are based in Dandenong.

"We've been pretty stiff not to win a rally outright so far this year. We probably should have won three - we've had the pace. It would be nice to finish off the championship in the right style."

TRD chief Neal's twin brother Rick Bates will make a one-off return to gravel rallying in the Pirtek Rally Team-prepared Ford Focus at the team's home event.

Bates replaces regular Focus driver Michael Guest.

The NGK Rally of Melbourne will also host an exciting finale to the inaugural privateers BP Ultimate Challenge.

Young Victorian driver Will Orders (also pictured)  in the Motorsport Parts Subaru WRX is just 12 points ahead of Euro Tech Automotive-sponsored Tasmanian driver Simon Jansen, who in turn is two points ahead of Queenslander Bruce Fullerton.

The 2006 NGK Rally of Melbourne kick-offs with a free-to-see Ceremonial Start along the NewQuay Promenade at Docklands this Friday, September 22.

The rally action will be based around Healesville, Toolangi and the Yarra Valley with the rally's service park at the Yarra Valley Racing Centre in Yarra Glen open to the public on both days of competition.

Pictured (l-r): Neal Bates, Dean Herridge (back to camera), Simon Evans and Scott Pedder.

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