The final round of the Australian Rally Championships 4WD National Series, Scouts Rally South Australia is upon us and Mick and Bernie are on the cusp of being crowned the 4WD National Series Winners.
Lets look back at how the year has gone so far.
Round 1, Western Australia – QUIT Forest Rally.
Mick and Bernie traveled to Busselton Western Australia in the hope of performing well in their newly acquired Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X built and managed by the team at Race Torque. Coming in to the round history had not been kind to the team with two DNF’s in as many years so you could say there was no pressure, we have seen just how well Mick can perform when he is stress free and this proved to be a very special event, first time in the EVO and 1st round winners.
“It was an absolutely amazing weekend, I had a smile on my face from start to finish!” said Mick
Round 2, Canberra – National Capital Rally.
The home event for both Mick and Bernie, after winning the first round and their first event in Perth the bar had been lifted and the team were excited. The battle began early but the duo kept calm and delivered a memorable result standing on the middle step of the podium for another round win.
“It’s an amazing feeling to win a Rally Round first and foremost, but to win in front of people I live with or see and speak to daily, it is hard to put into words, over the moon perhaps”. said Mick
“I grew up in these forests watching the likes of Possum Bourne and Neal Bates so to be here now and be able to stand on the middle of the podium is a really special feeling”. said Bernie
Round 3, Queensland – International Rally of Queensland.
After an amazing start to the season the team was on a high, this round is known for being brutal on both cars and drivers and this was no exception, gearbox problems all but ended the event, however as the queensland round is an endurance event the results are based on the overall weekend and as a result the team finished with yet another podium in 3rd.
Round 4, Coffs Harbour – Rally Australia.
The event where it all began many years ago, Rally Australia. With 2 wins and a 3rd the team came in to the round with one job, keep to the plan and stay on the road, and that they did, a faultless weekend saw the team come away with yet another podium in 2nd position.
“We had a very clear “championship” focused event, we wanted to win however increasing our championship lead in the Australian 4WD Rally Series was our main priority. Apart from losing some time on Saturday morning, it all went smoothly”.
So now come Round 5, South Australia, RallySa an event that Mick and Bernie haven’t had the best of luck, last year a mechanical problem during testing forced the teams withdrawl from the event, in 2013 they rolled their car then ended the rally with mechanic problems, so South Australia hasn’t been kind to the team, however it’s a new year, a new car, 2 round wins, 4 podium finishes and leading the series, they could not have had a better run leading up to the event, a long 3 days will be all that stands in the way of the team winning their first ever ARC Championship the 4WD National Series.
“I am pretty excited but very nervous at the same time, both Bernie and I are looking forward to the event. We didn’t have a great run last year, however the strong EVO X is ready to go. The team will take the usual mindset for the event, running our own race. We understand that it’s the last round, we have to give our all as there is no next week”.
Mke sure you follow all the action on our facebook page, twitter and right here on the RRT Website.