With the 2012 Australian Rally Champions already crowned on the previous Coffs Coast round, Rally Victoria provided a taste of things to come for the 2013 two-wheel-drive Australian Rally Championship, while waving a fond farewell to the dynamic and speedy 4WD category.
It was a Honda one-two at the pointy end of the new category, with Eli Evans and Glen Weston sneaking ahead of their team mates Mark Pedder and Claire Ryan for the round win, making it six wins from six rounds for the Honda duo. This was despite Pedder winning the first heat after Evans and Weston suffered a puncture on SS3, the exciting brand new VW Polo of 2011 ARC Champion Justin Dowel experiencing teething problems on debut, and Simon and Sue Evans in the nimble Mazda2 experiencing driveshaft trouble on SS5.
In the 4WD category, newly-crowned all-paw champ Michael Boaden and sister Helen Cheers (EVO IX) were relegated to second place by a returning Will Orders, the young gun bolted to the round win in his Summit Racing EVO V with partner and circuit racer Lauren Gray calling the corners. Rallyschool 4WD Junior winners Dane Berry and Nathan Long secured third for the round in their EVO IV. Despite suffering electrical gremlins, Canberra’s Mick Patton and Bernie Webb held on to cement their Repco-backed Subaru STi on the second tier of the championship podium.
