Troy Dowel will make his first appearance for the 2025 EROAD Australian Rally Championship (ARC) season next month after confirming his entry for the Forest Rally.
The Victorian was forced to miss the ARC season opener in March due to ongoing health issues, but has since made a close to full recovery over the past six weeks, making him available for the Western Australia-based rally.
A lot has changed since Dowel’s last ARC event, with the youngster to contest the Forest Rally in a new car and with a new team, while also welcoming a new co-driver to call the notes.
Set to be behind the wheel of Harry Bates’ 2023 championship-winning Toyota GR Yaris AP4 and running under the Neal Bates Motorsport banner, Dowel will tackle the 2025 season with last year’s Junior Cup driver champion Mitch Garrad as his co-driver.
Although Dowel’s only event for the 2024 season was last year’s Buckby Motors Rally Tasmania where he was initially entered in the Yaris, an incident in testing prevented him from actually starting the rally in the new car – Dowel reverting back to a Ford Fiesta Rally2 and eventually placing 10th overall.
A highly consistent performer on the national stage, Dowel has long been a top-ranked driver when stringing together full campaigns – a number of event and heat podiums contributing to his overall fourth place for the 2022 season and sixth in 2023.
As for Garrad, while many ARC fans would recognise him for his Junior Cup title in the driver’s seat last year, the Victorian has a wealth of experience as a co-driver, having regularly been alongside Brad Till in the Victorian Rally Championship since 2015.
Last year, a one-off round in the Akademos Rally alongside Dowel’s decorated father Justin proved impressive enough for Garrad to get the tick of approval to replace Bernie Webb for this year’s season.
While Webb had been instrumental in Dowel’s development since joining the ARC, the decision to switch co-drivers was motivated by the idea of building Dowel’s ability to work with different individuals as he continues his journey to one day compete in Europe.
With Dowel yet to have any seat time with Garrad, as well as not having had any real experience in the Yaris, this season will be a learning year for the young gun as he looks to slowly rebuild his confidence and consistency.
“We missed the first round of the championship because I just wasn’t physically ready for it after a tough weekend in Tasmania last year,” Dowel said.
“I am feeling much better now as I have more of an appetite, I am spending three or four sessions a week in the gym, I am on the simulator every day and I have regained the fitness required to rally.
“I am through the worst of the illness, but recovering from the bone marrow transplant is a long process and even though I am not 100 per cent just yet, I believe I am strong enough to do a rally and will feel even better by the time the Forest Rally arrives.
“With that said, I know I have to ease into it and there is no expectation for results. This will be the first time I have worked with another co-driver outside of Bernie, so the aim will be to get used to Mitch, finish every event and enjoy myself.
“I am also really looking forward to working with Neal Bates Motorsport – they are one of the most professionally run teams in the country and they know how to get the best out of that Yaris, so to have them in my corner is a bonus.
“Getting to experience that adrenaline of rallying in the forests again is good for me, as it’s a great escape from everything that’s going on and allows me to focus on being competitive. I am really excited to be back.”
The Forest Rally serves as the second round of the EROAD Australian Rally Championship and takes place in Busselton, Bunbury and Nannup on 22-25 May
