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arc news, featured, team news

TEAM NEWS: Rally Australia Preview

With Rally Australia just around the corner lets look back to the 2014 round where the RRT had arguably the best result in the Polo up until that point, but at the same time riding the up and down roller coaster that was to follow.

The 2014 event was one of both the highest of highs and lowest of lows, from the highs of coming 2nd to then being excluded all in less than 24hrs, then having their position reinstated after an appeal process, it was a difficult time for the team and in particular team principal and driver Mick.

Q: It was well publicised about what happened last year, coming 2d then excluded then an appeal process and being reinstated, what were your throughs at the time? Looking back some people might say you learn from times like these, do you agree?
A: It was a massive disappointment after last years event, I really questioned why I do this sport, in saying that the question was quickly answered with an amazing amount of support from my family, the rally community and my peers. With a lot of hard work we got the outcome that was deserved. It made me realise how complex behind the scenes is and I actually appreciate it a lot more now.

Q: Now almost 12 months on how are you feeling coming in to the event after having quite alot of success in the first two rounds and now leading the championship?
A: After re assessing where the team and championship was heading we have enjoyed the success this year. A lot comes from an attitude change and working with a class outfit like RaceTorque.

Q: Justin Dowell and Mark Pedder are arguably the two competitors the team and you are competing against, Justin in his i20 and Mark in his Peugeot, both not having much seat time in their cars how do you think you will fair against them at Rally Australia where endurance is the key?
A: We only ever focus on our outcomes as that’s all we can control. JD and mark have been competing at this level for many years and have a lot of experience, this only makes me more determined to do well.

Q: With such a long break between rounds have you done any testing? have you made any changes to the car? or have you simply put rallying to the side till the week prior?
A: We have had day day in our Subaru, as the evo is in Perth being prepared after a rough IROQ. We have also been watching last years in-car and the Jemba footage supplied by the event this year.

Q: How do you think you will fair this year in a new car and with new stages?
A: Really looking forward to getting back in the evo for rally oz, the car is such a pleasure to drive. We have made a few small set up changes after reviewing the season so far.

Q: Is there any pressure on you to perform at a higher level to try and capitalise on your lead and try and extend your lead going in to the last round?
A: We will stick to our formula that has gotten us to this point, once your start thinking about the outcomes first then it make it harder to achieve your goals, it’s a very structured process for us. Have had a few small moments thinking about it, but with Bernie Webb you can never get ahead of yourself.

Q: Have you given much thought to the fact in 2 rounds and 2 months time you could be an Australian Rally Champion?
A: We will be giving it our best shot and if or when we win, it will be a big celebration.

Rally Australia officially gets underway on Thursday the 10th September with the official ceremonial start, make sure you are following the team on facebook, twitter and instagram for all the latest updates.

arc news, featured

RALLY NEWS: RALLY DRIVE WINNER EXCLUSIVE – Adam Bensch

Drive-Adam-Bensch_2-12082015.-copy

In 2009 the Repco Rally Team’s very own Mick Patton entered a competition to win an all expenses rally drive at the Repco Rally Australia event the Australian round of the WRC.

The competition was called “The Big Bloody Rally Promotion”, Mick won the opportunity through his business Southern Automotive Service to go in to the main draw. 10 people from across Australia were drawn (2 from each state) from that main draw.

The 10 competition winners won a days driving at extremedriving.net, testing their abilities as rally drivers, from that day an eventual winner was chosen. Mick was the eventual winner, he went on to have 3 weekends of driver training and also helped prepare the car for the event, a Subaru WRX.

Mick went on to not only finish the event, but also came a credible 27th out of 45 competitors and 2nd in his class behind the winner and crazy Irishman Charlie Drake.

In 2015 Mick runs his own Rally Team in the Australian Rally Championship, his success and successful business dealings have seen him successfully secure the support of Repco since the original competition win over 6 years ago.

Now a possible new Mick Patton has emerged, Adam Bensch, 31 from Deniliquin has won a competition run by Coates Hire and Rally Australia, the “Drive of a Lifetime at Coates Hire Rally Australia”, a fully supported entry in the East Coast Bullbars Australian Rally Championship, part of the Coates Hire Rally Australia world championship round on the Coffs Coast on 10-13 September. Adam will be driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII rally car run by driver training company RallySchool.

The prize will see Adam rubbing shoulders with WRC celebrities like Sébastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala, along with Australian Champions Neal Bates and Simon Evans, an experience like no other.

With such similar stories we thought we should speak to Adam and see how he is feeling just a week from the big event.

RRT: Hi Adam, thanks for taking the time out to chat to the RRT, how are you feeling just a week away from the big event?
AB: Hi RRT. Feeling great, its been pretty busy for the last 4 weeks, as you could imagine. I can’t wait to get the rally started.

RRT: Did you know that Mick Patton was in your shoes just a few years ago, and now he is running his own team and leading the 4WD Series of the ARC, have you looked at his presence in the ARC and not help but think you might be able to end up on a similar path with such an amazing opportunity?
AB: I knew of the name watching the ARC on TV but only recently found out that Mick had gone down the same path after he had got in contact with me. He has helped me on how to approach my first rally. I am definitely aiming to travel the same path as Mick but first I must finish!

RRT: Can you tell us what you have been doing to prepare for the rally?
AB: Quite a bit of fitness and I have been driving long distances a lot which i think will help me over the 3 days of competition. Also some rally games on the Playstation.

RRT: It was mentioned on rally.com.au that you will be writing notes as well, a task that even for the top tier guys is hard at times, how have you been preparing for that? watching in-car videos?
AB: Yeah very difficult thing on my first rally. Darren Masters(co driver) will be helping me with most of the notes. He is a top driver, as well as being a great navigator, so i am very lucky to have Darren teach and take charge. I have been watching a lot of in car footage which helped as well.

RRT: How has the town of Deniliquin taken to your news?
AB: Deni has been great, there is a lot of support here. It’s such a nice community and beautiful town. We have a great car club here with a fantastic autocross track and they have been behind me all the way.

RRT: Do you plan to use this as a stepping stone to joining the ARC? is it something you are keen to pursue? with so much good publicity has anyone approached you to sponsor you?
AB: Yeah definitely, hearing Mick Patton’s story has given me that extra confidence. The people in the rally community are very supportive always offering a lending hand, it has blown me away just how nice they have been to me. I haven’t had anyone approach me as yet. I will do my best, my focus is set on finishing the rally in a reasonable position and see what comes from that. The publicity is crazy! I haven’t had anything like this happen before so i am loving every minute of it.

RRT: With RallySchool supporting you and having some of the best drivers under their banner and many many years of experience under their belt what has Mick and the team been doing with you to prepare for this huge event?
AB: Mick and the team at rallyschool.com.au have been amazing. I have had 2 weekends at RallySchool in Melbourne. The instructors there are amazing, they are so talented. They instruct with so much enthusiasm. They have helped me massively with driving and pace notes. I highly recommend getting down there and having a go!

RRT: Have you been to RA before? or driven on the roads?
AB: No I haven’t been to Rally Australia before or driven on the roads! The stages look great. They look very fast.

RRT: Is their any rally history in the Bensch family?
AB: Yeah dad has had some success in rallying through the Nissan/Datsun car club in Melbourne. Mum and Dad both competed in autocross as well as motorkhana.

Now the important questions 🙂

RRT: Where were you born?
AB: I was born in Melbourne, Box Hill

RRT: Occupation?
AB: Concreter and some engineering

RRT: Favourite Rally Car?
AB: The AUDI S1 or any of the Group B cars. Also the much loved Datsun 1600

RRT: Favourite Rally Driver?
AB: Australian driver has to be Simon Evans. International is Seb Loeb

RRT: Favourite international rally? (if you have watched any)
AB: Finland. I think this would be everyone’s favourite rally. To see a rally car tackle those roads the way they do is just amazing.

RRT: Favourite Rally Team website? *hint* hint* 🙂
AB: (Laughs) The RRT website looks sharp with plenty of information on team members, cars and plenty more.

RRT: Lastly any shoutouts, anyone you wish to thank
AB: A big thank you to the family at RallySchool.com.au . Channel 10’s RPM show and Rally Australia. The repco rally team for the interview Also to the great people i have met so far. And i cant forget my beautiful wife sarah she has been amazing.

RRT: Where can fans follow your adventure?
AB: Fans can follow me on my facebook page adam bensch. I will be taking lots of pictures and video which will be fun. Thanks again guys

The RRT Website team wishes Adam all the best for Rally Australia, perhaps a star of the future.

Rally Australia officially gets underway on Thursday the 10th September with the official ceremonial start, make sure you are following the team on facebook, twitter and instagram for all the latest updates.

Image: Rally.com.au

arc news, team news

Team News: The High’s and the Low’s of Rally Australia

As the dust settled from the most successful event for the team since joining the Australian Rally Championship and after an emotional event prior in South Australia the team celebrated as they came in 2nd place at the event that started it all.

A gruelling 3 days of competition with over 350km of competitive stages came to a close on Sunday afternoon in more ways than one, the result had just sunk in when the compulsory post event scrutineers came to the teams tent to do their mandatory checks, unbenounced to the team within minutes the celebrations would turn to heartache, the official ruling:

Car No./Driver: Car #84, Mick Paton
Session: Post-event scrutiny
Facts: Car #84 was checked by the scrutineers at post-event scrutiny and was found not to have an operational catalytic converter as required by Article 6.1(a) of the Group G2 Technical Regulations.
Offence: Breach of NCR 183(i) – participation in a competition of an automobile found to be ineligible therefore;
Decision: Car #84 is excluded from the Event.

Fortunately after an appeal process with the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS), the decision has been overturned, and the teams result stands and they have been reinstated with the second place result.

Mick had this to say: “It has been a very difficult process to go through, from the elation of finishing a very tough event in second outright, our best result in an ARC event; to the devastation of being excluded.”

“The appeal process was pretty stressful and it’s a huge relief that CAMS have made the decision to restore us in second place. There was no performance advantage gained from the converter failure, so common sense has prevailed.”

With the final Rally Australia result restored the Repco Rally Team has now moved from eighth to fifth in the Australian Rally Championship.

A positive from the event was the performance of the VW Polo. After a challenging 18 months of development, the car performed well with the service crew only required to fix a few minor issues over the gruelling three day event. “I’d like to thank the many people who helped us through the appeal process and everyone who sent us messages of support. It means a lot to have so much support,” said Patton.

Source: http://rally.com.au

media, team news

Forza 5 does Repco Rally Team

The Repco Rally Team makes the big screen, well small screen, well lets just say a screen in front of many in the Xbox game Forza Motorsport Forza Motorsport 5, Repco, Penrite Oil, OEX, Kumho Tyres Australia and East Coast Bullbars – ECB all up in lights, perhaps an Australian Rally Championship section in the game? whatever it is, its very cool.

Check it out.