It’s always nice when a fan favourite wins a title and it’s exactly how 2018 CAMS ARC2 title ended up.
Kosciuszko Automotive Rally Team’s Andrew Penny has been rallying for more than 20 years, competing in countless club and state events and in the last two years, select rounds of the CAMS Australian Rally Championship (ARC).
The Jindabyne local entered the first three rounds of the 2018 ARC before work commitments saw him opt out for rounds four and five.
Penny and long-time co-driver Rhys Llewellyn nominated The Courier Eureka Rally as their ‘away’ ARC2 round in addition to their home round at the Netier National Capital Rally.
Reasonable results at Ballarat had them well placed in the ARC2 standings before starting off the ACT round strong, finishing eighth outright in the first leg.
Unfortunately, their good work was undone when their trusty Subaru Impreza WRX STi suffered mechanical dramas on leg two, forcing Penny and Llewellyn to retire, their ARC2 title tilt in tatters.
After the ARC’s penultimate round in South Australia, Penny was seventh in the ARC2 standings, just outside of the top five and his ARC2 title campaign seemingly over.
Other top five competitors Glen Raymond and Brad Markovic also ruled themselves out of the ARC2 grand finale, allowing Penny, along with Ben Hayes and Kevin Raedel, the opportunity for a trip to the Coffs Coast for Rally Australia.
The rest is history.
A stellar event for Penny and Lewellyn saw them not only take out the ARC2 title, but sensationally finish third outright in the ARC field.
Fittingly, it was their first podium at a national event.
Best of all, it was back to basics for the pair, with both Penny and Lewellyn smiling, laughing and fist-pumping their way through the 24 stages, enjoying just being out on the road.
ARC2 is all about helping state competitors succeed at a national level, and this year’s ARC2 competition did just that.
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