Heat One of the Coffs Coast Rally has concluded with the Team Hyundai Rallye i30 being the first 2WD
car home and tenth outright.
Driver Mick Gillett, despite having been down with the flu during the rally, was beaming as he said
“I’m really stoked with the result obviously, but we’re also pleased with how the car has run. The car
is very predictable, it handles really well. We took some fairly big jumps out there, and it landed
really well.”
The i30 powered through the day with no major issues, and basically only needed fuel at each service.
Even the fuel was only needed in limited supply. Co-driver, Harvey Smith said “The fuel economy was
fantastic; we only used 30L of diesel for a full day of competition, which is amazing.”
The only complaint about the car was from spectators, who were un-used to the quiet nature of the
car compared to other competition vehicles. “We couldn’t hear it coming” one spectator indicated
“we had hoped to get some photos of the car, but it was so quiet it snuck up on us and we missed it.”
While the crew are pleased with their day and the result, they are still clearly focussed on the second
heat on Sunday. Heat 2 of the rally comprises 6 stages, totalling 123 competitive kilometres in the
forests north of Coffs Harbour. “They are fantastic roads so we’re keen to tackle them again. Our aim
now is to get a good sleep so that we can be ready to take on the challenge again tomorrow.”
– Credit: Team Hyundai Rallye