While Harry Bates and Coral Taylor celebrate back-to-back Australian Rally Championship titles in 2024, there were plenty of breakout seasons across the ARC Cups.
Bodie Reading and Mark Young have become the first crews to win back-to-back MainFix Production Cups in recent years, backing up their 2023 title defence. The Tasmanians, who rebuilt their trusty damaged Subaru from their 2023 campaign, were a late appearance after beginning their season at the third round of the year at Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland.
Reading and Young enjoyed a streak of Production Cup podiums and victory at the Adelaide Hills Rally to usurp Molly Taylor and Andy Sarandis, with the 2016 ARC Champion in the lead of the Production Cup title race up until Buckby Motors Rally Tasmania – which they did not contest.
Peter Dimmock and Paul Bennett successfully completed their “bucket list” objective of completing an entire ARC season, and they were duly rewarded with the 2024 Trenching Systems Australia 2WD Classic Cup crown as a result.
The Canberran won two rounds in Queensland and South Australia aboard their Datsun to win by 43 points over 2023 2WD Classic Cup winner Dave Thompson.
Looking to the future, Mitch Garrad and Taylah Murphy enjoyed a reliable season across an impressive five rounds for the Victorian couple.
The Subaru pilots won three out of a possible four rounds, which also helped secure Murphy co-driver honours in a competitive field.
Jaidyn and Lucy Gluskie, their rivals for much of the year, were unfortunate not to finish their home rally in Tasmania – with the siblings 150 points adrift in the runner-up spot.
West Australians Dave and Kelly Thomas enjoyed a streak of podiums to wrap up the 2WD Cup title earlier in the year, with the father and daughter the only 2WD crews to contest the maximum of four rounds to be eligible for the crown.
Kelly was also in contention for the Junior Cup co-driver honours leading into Tasmania, but the Subaru BRZ made its last appearance at The Middle of Everywhere Gippsland Rally.
The Thomas’ enjoyed two round wins in Canberra and at their home rally in Western Australia.
Making it the fourth Subaru to win an ARC Cup in 2024, it was a given that another Subaru would win the WRX Challenge.
The one-make series made its debut in Gippsland, and Queenslander Glenn Brinkman and Scott Beckwith made the switch from a Production Cup Mitsubishi to the all-new class.
It was a busy season for Brinkman, having also starting the year at the gruelling Dakar Rally and enjoying double-duties in the SXS Championship and the Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship in 2024.
Brinkman and Beckwith were the only crews to finish more than two rounds, and were victorious in both Adelaide Hills and Tasmanian rallies to win the inaugural Subaru WRX Challenge crown.
