Rally Australia / Rally review
They invented the super special stage in Australia years ago and they still know how to
entertain, running the Coffs Harbour super special no less than six times.
36/52
The organizers of the Coates Hire Rally of Australia did their best and the rally again was quite
a success. Not in the last place for the public.
OK they had to pay a hefty sum to be part of all
the action. But there was plenty of it especially
in and around the host town itself. In the centre
of Coffs Harbour the fans found a rally hub with
both the service centre and a mixed surface super special that will be run no less than 6 times.
The 1,6 competitive kilometres will not be a rally
decider for the competitors, but for the locals it is
an excellent opportunity to watch their favourites
right at their doorstep. Just like the FIA wants it:
people close to the action.
Kris Meeke’s WRC return is welcomed by his many many fans.
The event
This event will be one of the most compact WRC
events in history. Two of the three legs never go
further than 35km from Coffs Harbour. Of the total distance of just over 930 kilometres, 38% (or
354 km) are competitive stages.
Competitors
The biggest absentee is Daniel Sordo. The Germany winner was replaced by Kris Meeke. In
the eyes of Citroën-boss Matton, the man from
Northern Ireland stood a bigger chance to gain
the ever so necessary points in the constructers’
championship. So he gave his recruit a simple
order. “You’re not here to win but to gain as many
points as possible for the team. Before the rally
Meeke seemed to understand this: “I won’t be going flat out. At this moment it’s important to show
I can get the car to the finish to gain some constructers’ points. It’s also important for myself as
it is my second ‘one off chance’ to earn a factory
seat for next year.”
Another nice addition to the entry list is local driver
Nathan Quinn. He found sponsorship to compete
in his hometown in a Mini John Cooper Works
WRC, entered by Motorsport Italia. He is realistic
about his chances. “ I expect to be cleaning the
roads for the other competitors on day one but
after that I hope to be in the top ten. Hopefully
this helps because ultimately, it’s my aim to generate more opportunities for the future to further
my rallying.”