The third round of the Bosch Motorsport Australia Rally Championship (ARC) took place on the weekend, with Harry Bates and Coral Taylor securing victory in the Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland.
The 2019 ARC champion wasn’t the only driver to enjoy some silverware during the round though with a pool of other stars claiming ARC Cup wins.
See a breif snapshot about what each Cup winner had to say about their victory in Gympie.
Outright Winner – Harry Bates
“It’s been a really incredible weekend for us, and the whole team to be honest. To have the top two cars in the rally is a pretty special feeling, but it’s a big relief for me, and a big relief for the team as well, that finally, after 13 months, we’re back on the top step of the podium.
“The points are very valuable, and it’s looking life if I keep nibbling away at Lewis it’s going to come down to the last round, so that’s the plan for the rest of the season.”
ARC Classic Cup Winner – Ian Griffin
“I just try and prepare [the car] pretty well, but even that takes right up until the week before the rally.
“I don’t think [being from Queensland] helped me, it’s rough for everybody, but it’s a good competition.”
ARC Junior Cup Winner – Josh Wiedman
“It was hard trying to push with no boost on the first couple of stages on the first day, but we just had to push to try and stay in front of the VRZ.
“We ended up getting a flat on the second last stage, and on the very last stage ended up doing the CV, so had one wheel drive for most of the drive, which was pretty fun, but still finished.”
ARC Production Cup Winner – Bodie Reading
“We just tried to pot along this weekend. It’s our first time here, so we’re just getting experience on what was such a rough rally. It took a toll on a lot of people, but we managed to come in on the straight and narrow and we’ve made it to the end with a good result.
“I feel like the car just works a lot better on a hard, bony road. The car’s not really sophisticated enough to make grip where it’s needed, so that’s where we left it in Perth.”
ARC 2WD Cup Winner – Ben Hayes
“It was a really good weekend actually. Josh Wiedman and I were swapping stage times… and it came down to 2.1 seconds in the end, so very close”
“We were a worried our car was a little bit low for these rough events, but it did really well, no damage.
“It’s an easy car to drive…but it needs to be driven hard.”
