Lewis Bates leads brotherly battle at midway in Canberra ARC finale

Lewis Bates and Anthony McLoughlin lead the Bates brotherly battle at the halfway mark of the Subaru Canberra Rally of Canberra by just seconds.

In what was an extremely tough day for crews facing challenging conditions, the reigning ARC champions’ consistency saw them end the day with a narrow three second advantage over Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia teammates Harry Bates and Coral Taylor after six dramatic stages.

A late spin proved costly for Harry Bates, who had controlled the majority of the opening day and built up to a 27s worth of an advantage.

But the stage six mistake proved costly, allowing Lewis Bates to snatch a 3.1s lead after the opening day.

To make things worse for Harry, it could have a major say on the championship with him heading into the ARC finale 23 points down on Lewis.

Lewis Bates said it was tough behind the wheel and is looking forward to fighting his brother for victory in the season finale.

“I am feeling pretty tired to be honest. It was a long tough day and very hot. I think all the crews are feeling it,” Lewis said.

“In terms of results, leading at the end of day one is a step in the right direction, even if three seconds is nothing from an overall event point of view.

“We are obviously sitting in a good position though, even though we lost lots of time on the first pass of Oakey Creek, which was frustrating.

“We fought back and tried to pile pressure on Harry, and as we kept pushing, we began to improve and build the confidence as the day went on.

“I knew that we had a good run on the final stage, but we had no idea about Harry until some time after we finished. It was a nice surprise to have after what was a tough day.

“Although it’s only three seconds, it’s good to go into tomorrow with a lead and we need to get some rest and go over notes for tomorrow.”

The two title contenders were the standout performers throughout day one, with Eddie Maguire and Zak Brakey rounding out the top three more than 30 seconds off Harry and Taylor following what was a strong Canberra debut.

Harry and Taylor jumped out to a 17s lead in the rally’s opening stage, before Maguire and Brakey guided their Skoda Fabia R5 to the stage two win.

Lewis and McLoughlin’s victory made it three winners from as many stages, only for Harry and Taylor to extend their lead out to more than 20s on stage four.

A win on stage five saw Harry build his lead to 27s after Lewis finished 4s slower, while Maguire came to within three tenths of winning the stage for the second time of the day.

The fight for victory was then turned on its head on the day’s final stage as Harry and Taylor had a big spin, which resulted in a snapped front sway bar.

This undid all their good work and ultimately demoted them to second behind Lewis and McLoughlin.

The Power Stage will be broadcast on 7Plus at 14.30 AEDT this afternoon.

Photos: Gears and Wheels Photography

For more of the latest motorsport news, pick up the latest issue of AUTO ACTION or subscribe HERE

On this week’s Auto Action RevLimiter, we ramble on about Supercars. Why the finances don’t need a boost! What’s wrong with the calendar! Plus more!