Despite missing out on the round win at Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland, Lewis Bates and Anthony McLoughlin remain on top of the Bosch Motorsport Australia Rally Championship (ARC) standings, but there are plenty of competitors hot on their tail.
Bates and McLoughlin now lead their respective championships by 39-points over Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia teammates Harry Bates and Coral Taylor who have bolted into second thanks to their victory and aided by the DNFs of Nathan Quinn and co-driver Ray Winwood-Smith, as well as Luke Anear and Malcolm Read’s day one retirement after their big rollover.
Check out the full ARC standings after Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland.
Quinn, who was unable to add any points to his tally, has now dropped one place to third but still well and truly in contention for the 2023 title.
The biggest movers from the event were Bodie Reading and co-driver Mark Young, along with Eddie Maguire and co-driver Zak Brakey, with Reading and Young moving from seventh place to fourth while Maguire and Brakey climbed four places to sit in sixth and eager to keep their good form rolling.
Not only did Reading and Young heavily benefit from their result in the outright standings, but they also leapfrogged Maguire to now lead the White Wolf Constructions Production Cup with Maguire and Brakey now behind the wheel of the Skoda Fabia R5 – their new wheels not eligible for Production Cup points.
In the co-drivers’ championship, the top seven have followed their driving counterparts in their movements, while Bradley Luff and Bernie Webb sit in eighth and ninth respectively, two places higher than their respective drivers in Jamie Luff and Troy Dowel thanks to Dale Moscatt and James Marquet either missing rounds or sitting with different drivers.
Three out of three round wins has ensured Ben Hayes and Cathy Hayes remain atop of the ARC 2WD Cup, putting in an impressive display last weekend to finish ahead of their closest class contender in Josh Wiedman and Nicholas Reid – who move firmly into second place.
Not only did Wiedman and Reid make moves in the ARC 2WD Cup, but they also continue to impress in the Shamrock Haulage ARC Junior Cup leading the way on the points tally.
David Thompson and Matthew Sanders remain the driver and co-driver to beat In the ARC Classic Cup, now sitting 99 points clear of Ivan Thompson and Nathan Quartermaine while Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland class winner Ian Griffin and Liam Bainton have moved into third place, equal on points with Trevor Stilling and Jon Thomson who did not compete in Queensland.
View the full standings across all Cups via the Subaru Results Hub.
The next round of the 2023 Bosch Motorsport Australia Rally Championship will be The Middle of Everywhere Gippsland Rally on 25-27 August.
