From being one of the youngest drivers to debut in the Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship at just 15 years old to securing a maiden class victory in the EROAD Australian Rally Championship just last month, Josh Wiedman is undoubtedly on the rise.
Alongside new co-driver KJ Miller and behind the wheel of a newly acquired Mitsubishi EVO9, Wiedman took out top honours in the WOLF Production Cup at last month’s Toyota Gazoo Racing Rally of Canberra after winning both Heats, as well as falling just short of the outright podium to finish fourth.
He had come close to class victories on multiple occasions – but Canberra was the first time he had stood on the top step of the Production Cup – a milestone marked with a shoey, which is quickly becoming his signature celebration.
Since debuting back in 2022, Wiedman has endured a number of issues with mechanical dramas, driver errors and general inexperience preventing him from reaching his true potential.
But in 2025, the Queenslander is showing a new sense of maturity he has never displayed before and one that could prove to be the difference in becoming a class champion, and eventually a regular in the outright ARC.
This new way of thinking was on show during the season opener when the youngster charged out to an early lead of more than a minute after the first loop of Saturday’s stages before managing the car through the afternoon stages instead of trying to push even harder – a strategy that was rewarded with a Heat victory by more than three minutes despite suffering a flat earlier in the day.
That night, he and Miller sifted through the onboard vision for hours to study every turn, every mistake and every technique – something he had never truly done.
On the Sunday morning, while a number of other drivers struggled to handle the challenging conditions, Wiedman found himself with a 45-second lead courtesy of a hat-trick of stage wins.
Unfortunately, he was met with his second major drama of the event when he lost his brakes. However, once again, he eased his way through the stages and made it back to Service.
While the team temporarily fixed his issue and helped him win the afternoon’s first stage, his brakes failed again and he was forced to take it easy – his WOLF Production Cup lead whittling away and his chances of the outright podium quickly diminishing.
Despite all the mechanical failures, Wiedman managed to hold on to the class Heat win by just one second over Jody Mill and James Ford to secure the class win and a top-five outright finish – capping off what had been a breakthrough weekend for the rising star.
“I know for a fact if it was a couple of years ago, I would have crashed out with those brake issues and my event would have been over,” Wiedman said.
“We had big problems and we managed to overcome them and hold on for the win, which was awesome.
“It feels really good. The event ended up being an eye-opening experience for me; it showed that we could make something happen this season and what we are truly capable of if we put our mind to it.
“I think I have matured as a driver and taken a step up to be honest. There would be times in previous years where I would get out to a big lead and just push and push until I made a mistake and crash out. I’ve figured out that now if I get to a comfortable lead, I can just cruise my way through the stages rather than going hard for no reason.
“It’s taken me a while, but I think I am on the right pathway. Having KJ was amazing and I feel he took me to the next level. Even the simple stuff of going through the videos instead of just winging it.
“I am very happy with the result and I am hoping that I will be able to have something to show for this season – the victory in Canberra is definitely a good start.
“We are very open to the idea of eventually doing outright, but I think we are going to spend the next two years in the Production Cup and see how we fare there. If we are showing a lot of positive progress, then the aim is to step up into the outright class for the 2027 season.”
Wiedman currently sits fourth on the overall standings and tops the WOLF Production Cup. He is likely to miss May’s Forest Rally but will return for Rally Queensland in July.
