Underdog Dwyer not intimidated by national stage

Fresh from a round win in the CAMS South Australian Rally Championship (SARC), Declan Dwyer is hoping to have a serious crack against Australia’s best rally drivers during the 2018 BOTT Adelaide Hills Rally.

The three-time state champion has a successful history in the CAMS Australian Rally Championship, previously taking two Super Special Stages in Adelaide earlier in his career.

Despite not performing on the national stage for some time, Dwyer’s 2018 budget has allowed him to make a return to the ARC with the aim of both winning the SARC round and finishing ahead of some of the ARC competitors.

“If I can be nipping at the heels of the ARC guys then I will be really happy with that,” Dwyer said.

“I am not expecting to get anywhere near the top-three in Eli Evans, Steve Glenney and Harry Bates, but hopefully I can stay within Molly Taylor and Lewis Bates.

“Somewhere around that pace will be good, especially based on the fact that I am operating 20 year old machinery.

“With this said, we like to peg ourselves as the underdog or the little engine that could and we like to have good go.

“If I can sneak into a top three during a stage then I know I can mix it with the better part of the talent that Australia has to offer.”

While the Mitsubishi Evo pilot will focus on trying to break into the top-five outright, he will go into the SARC aspect of the rally full of confidence after dominating the Copyworld Walky 100, the fifth of his career.

Unfortunately for Dwyer, he was unable to attend the opening two rounds of the championship, therefore removing any chance of adding a fourth title to his cabinet.

“Sadly I haven’t got enough SARC points to win the title, but at the same time, if I can get a few round wins then I will be pretty happy,” Dwyer explained.

“Hopefully we can claim a podium or at least win some heats in the SARC, but having said that, the current crop of SARC drivers have really stepped up so it may be difficult.

“We have won three championships in our time and I don’t think another one is out of our reach.

“It’s just a case of making sure that we have all our ducks in a row and get to all rounds of future championships.”

As for the 2018 BOTT Adelaide Hills Rally, the South Australian is looking forward to being able to run on some of the scenic stages that the Adelaide Hills has to offer.

“Some of the new stages that have been lost in recent times are back and they are absolute rippers and I love doing them,” Dwyer said.

“Mawsons Road has to be the one of the best stages in the country and that’s backed up by Retreat Valley which is also incredible.

“The Adelaide Hill council type roads are some of my favourites, because they test your actual driving capability and they are the sort of the roads that drivers can get stuck into without having to pound the car over rough roads.”

The 2018 BOTT Adelaide Hills Rally will be the fifth round of the CAMS Australian Rally Championship, as well as the final round of the CAMS South Australian Rally Championship.

The 2018 BOTT Adelaide Hills Rally will kick off with a Super Special Stage at The Bend Motorsport Park on Friday, 21 September before two days of rallying around the hills of Adelaide on 22 – 23 September.

Click here for more information on the 2018 BOTT Adelaide Hills Rally.