Story: Staff Writer
The unpredictable and merciless rally gods smiled on the Evans Motorsport Tankformers Subaru all weekend at the International Rally of Queensland and the result was supreme: Simon and Sue Evans won every stage, both heats, the event and the 2010 Australian Rally Championship title to boot.
In an era where superlatives are easily overused, Simon Evans has gone from champion to a legend in Australian Rally, taking his fourth title in emphatic fashion.
With main competitor Scott Pedder in attendance, but on crutches, Simon hosed down every challenge from the rest of the field, stretching his lead at every stage and winning outright and beating the more fancied Asia Pacific Rally Championship competitors as well. During the final day a gear lever problem meant he could only change gears by gripping the base of the gear lever and muscling it into gears as required. While doing this he continued to top the time sheets in both the ARC and APRC.
And while all the plaudits ought rightly go to the Evans/Evans pairing, it was also a stand out day for the newly patient and consistent Mark Pedder and Lee Tierney who, in their third ever event together, took second place. Driving a Race Torque prepared Mitsubishi Evo IX, Pedder and Tierney were a model of consistency for much of the weekend. Today they were putting in top five stage performances for much of the morning followed by a string of second places in the absence of the Yandina Automotive Corolla of Ryan and Rebecca Smart who went off during Stage 13 and were unable to re-join.
In third place were Eli Evans and Glen Weston in their distinctive factory backed Honda Civic Type R. Like Mark Pedder before them, they decided to go with consistency over outright speed and found a rhythm that suited them and paid off handsomely with a podium finish and a win in the front wheel drive class.
If there was an award for Mr Consistent for the International Rally of Queensland, then Michael Boaden would gladly accept it. Alongside sister Helen Cheers the Wauchope Retravision Mitsubishi Evo IX was a highly placed finisher in most stages and fourth place overall was a just reward.
A tired but satisfied Mark Fawcett with co-driver Simon Ellis finished fifth as they build on their ARC experiences. Their Subaru WRC STI Spec C performed admirably all weekend and they came home well in the final stages while others struggled.
While they finished down in the standings, Steven Shepheard and John McCarthy were just pleased to finish. A broken thrown out bearing in their Sachs Mitsubishi meant the clutch was rendered inoperable. As a result the the crew were forced to start their engine in gear and stagger away from every stage start today- over 200 kilometres without a clutch pedal.
Eligible for ARC points, but actually competing in the Asia Pacific event, the Raymond Accountants entry of Glen and Matt Raymond took an APRC podium and second placed points in the ARC.
Despite the impressive performances from many in the ARC this weeekend, for most in attendance it was all about the Evans/Evans combination and their outstanding and consistently brilliant efforts all weekend. Today was the day they took the ARC title for 2010, but it was also the day that they partook in what long time rally pundits regard as the finest drive in the modern era.
The series will reconvene in Victoria later in the year for the final round of the Australian Rally Championship.
OVERALL CLASSIFICATION
ARC Championship:
01) S. Evans/S. Evans
Subaru Impreza – 02h 47m 17.7s
02) M. Pedder/L. Tierney
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX + 06m 21.0s
03) E. Evans/G. Weston
Honda Civic Type R + 08m 27.2s
04) M. Boaden/H. Cheers
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX + 12m 41.6s
05) M. Fawcett/S. Ellis
Subaru Impreza + 15m 59.9s
06) S. Shepheard/J. McCarthy
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X + 16m 49.4s
07) B. Fullerton/H. Reardon-Smith
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII + 18m 19.9s
08) M. Gillett/H. Smith
Hyundai i30 CRDi + 40m 46.2s
09) J. Bruinsma/L. White
Holden Commodore VE SS + 55m 46.8s
10) J. Murray/R. Selby Wood
Subaru Impreza + 55m 53.6s
APRC Championship:
01) G. Gill/G. MacNeal
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X – 02h 49m 35.1s
02) G. Raymond/M. Raymond
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X + 01m 16.0s
03) K. Taguchi/C. Murphy
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X + 05m 04.8s
04) A. Masimura/O. Yoda
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII + 07m 23.7s