Lewis Bates has secured a victory on home turf for the first time in his career as he and co-driver Anthony McLoughlin took out overall top honours in a chaotic Toyota Gazoo Racing Rally of Canberra.
Although the pair were unable to secure Heat wins on either Saturday or Sunday, their consistency behind the wheel was rewarded as they faced no significant issues during the event, finishing second in both Heat 1 and 2.
Claiming second overall for the event was Scott Pedder and Glen Macneall after the duo guided their Skoda Fabia Rally 2 to third on both days, while Harry Bates and Coral Taylor rounded out the podium after comfortably winning Heat 2.
No one truly escaped the Canberra carnage throughout the weekend, with every crew sustaining damage in some capacity, including the podium-getters, with Lewis sustaining damage from a collision on Sunday morning, Pedder suffering a puncture, and Harry having missed multiple stages on Saturday due to a crash himself.
The big story from the day, though, was the early retirement of Heat 1 winners Hayden Paddon and John Kennard, who hit a kangaroo in the opening stage. The damage proved too great as a result, and they were unable to finish the morning’s remaining stage, with a withdrawal from the afternoon’s loop.
Fellow Hyundai i20 Rally 2 pilots Alex Rullo and Steve Glenney had a similar fate to the New Zealanders – with an incident on the same stage seeing the pair pick up terminal damage in their right rear.
With Paddon and Rullo out after the opening stage and Pedder’s early puncture after winning the Heat’s next stage, it opened up an intriguing battle between both Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia entries, which was eventually claimed by Harry and Taylor after they won five of the eight stages, including the Power Stage.
While Harry may have won the Heat and Power Stage, resulting in an incredible turnaround having finished 14th on Saturday, the weekend belonged to Lewis, who enjoyed his first-ever win in Canberra.
“I am so happy. We’ve been trying to win this rally for seven years and being my home rally is extra special,” Lewis said.
“Having everyone come out to cheer us on was awesome. IT was such a tough weekend and so happy to come out on top this weekend.
“Obviously others had their misfortunes. It was very unlucky for Hayden and John this morning, we were looking forward to a good battle with them today, but fortunately for us, luck was on our side this weekend and I am over the moon.
“We were very consistent and you create your own luck. What happened to Hayden and John this morning nothing can stop that, we actually hit a kangaroo as well but we just got lucky that it didn’t damage our car.
“We came here with a game plan and we executed it really well.
“Thank you so much to Anthony, the whole team at Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia for their support, and this GR Yaris it’s coped with a lot this weekend so super proud.
“It was super special and cool to see everyone out here cheering us on. The vibes this weekend since the Ceremonial Start have been absolutely incredible. I can’t thank Canberra enough for coming out and supporting us.”
Rounding out the top five for the Heat was the West Australian duo of Peter Rullo and Ben Searcy and young guns Josh Wiedman and KJ Miller – the latter duo fourth for the weekend after two top-five finishes.
Wiedman’s top-five finish was a remarkable result, as he dealt with brake issues for much of Heat 2 to hold on for his place – the result also securing him both the Heat 2 and overall event win in the WOLF Production Cup.
Incredibly, the battle for fifth in Heat 2 went right down to the wire, with Wiedman and Miller edging out Jody Mill and James Ford by one second, while overall ARC 4WD Classic Cup winners Andrew Penny and Rhys Llewellyn were a further three seconds off in seventh.
In eighth place overall for the Heat were overall ARC 2WD Cup winners Tony Sullens and Kylie Newell, with the Citroen DS3 crew having been on track for a top-five finish – only to have some issues midway through the day and slip down the order.
Making up the Heat’s top 10 were the two junior entries, with Jaidyn and Lucy Gluskie sneaking past Jackson and Damian Long by 10 seconds – the former enjoying the ARC Junior Cup victory in the process.
Taking out the final Cup win was Trevor Stilling and Claire Buccini, who were victorious in the 2WD Classic Cup for both Heat 2 and the event overall.
The next round of the 2025 EROAD Australian Rally Championship is the Forest Rally in Western Australia on 22-25 May.
