RSEA Safety Motorsport Australia Rally Championship (ARC) rookie Taylor Gill has enlisted the services of veteran co-driver Steve Glenney for next month’s Kosciuszko Automotive Monaro Stages Rally.
The rally, which serves as the final round of 2021 ARC season, will be Gill’s first major event since the Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland, while Glenney has had a busy year in the Motorsport Australia Targa Championship.
Glenney won’t be too rusty when it comes to ARC co-driving either after the Tasmanian sat beside Ben Calder for Rally Queensland and Thomas Monaghan for the Netier National Capital Rally.
Obtaining the services of Glenney for the season finale is a major coup for Gill, who continues to develop his craft as a rally driver and the 18-year-old was looking forward to learning as much as he can off Glenney.
“I am keen to have him. As well as being a good co-driver, he is a good driver, so I can learn from him for both aspects,” Gill said.
“It wasn’t too difficult to get him. We had been trying to chase someone down for the past two months and his name got thrown around a lot. I contacted him on Facebook and he was happy to do it.
“It should be pretty easy going. We will meet up on the Wednesday or Thursday before the event to do the pre-event testing in Canberra and then we will get into it.
“At this stage in my young career, the event is about building experience and so next month, I will learn as much as I can from Steve and hopefully that helps me develop.”
As far as his performances are concerned, the teenager has had a mixed first year in the ARC.
Gill overcame a tough DNF in Canberra to finish both Queensland heats – his ninth place in Heat 2 highlighting the rise in confidence and talent, something he hopes to continue at the Monaro Stages.
“I am happy with my year so far. It was a big jump in my development from Canberra last year to Canberra this year, and then an even bigger jump to Queensland. So based on that, I think my pace should improve next month.
“With that said, I haven’t been able to do much preparation for the round, with fitness being my main goal. I have tried to stay in the right mindset but there isn’t much I can do.
“In terms of experience, I have run in some club-level khanacrosses, but that’s about it.
“I really can’t wait to get there. All I want to do is rally again. I am just looking forward to getting to an event again, back to the service park and back in the car with Steve.”
The Kosciuszko Automotive Monaro Stages Rally takes place in the Monaro region of New South Wales on 11 December.
Photo: CH Images
