ATR steps up with Snowy River Sprint

Round two of the Australian Tarmac Rally Championship gets underway on May 4-5 with the Snowy River Sprint.

Descending on the coastal town of Lakes Entrance, 70 teams are gearing up to take on the gruelling 18 stage, 240 kilometre event utilising the undulating road between Buchan and Orbost.

Reigning champions Paul Dowie and John Allen will have a point to prove in their Porsche GT3RS after coming second in the last round to the ultra-fast and former champions Jason and Fiona Wright in their R35 Skyline.

After a differential failure in the opening round, Nathan Reeves and Bec Sheldrick will be keen to mix it with the front runners and continue their blistering speed.

Also throwing their hat in the ring will be the recent additions to open performance in Jeremy Dennison and Casey Rumble in their BMW M140i.

Modern AWD sees the pairing of Crichton Lewis and Anthony Carr of Buckby Motorsport return after a solid performance in the opening round, however, they will have to contend with the dominance of Matt Close and Cameron Reeves after a mechanical failure saw the Audi TTRS Sport retire in the opening stages of round 1.

Early Modern AWD has drawn the attention of John and Janet Ireland, who have parked up their Viper and will be contesting in a 2010 Evo 10, however, the likes of Rumble, Hines and Waterhouse will be sure to keep them on their toes.

Early Modern 2WD sees the return of last start winner Paul Buccini in his BMW M1, however he has opted to swap out his wife Claire for the navigational stalwart Bernie Webb.

Whilst there are no official spectator points on stage, the cars can be seen up close at the
service park at the Buchan football oval on both days.

There will be road closures in place from Buchan Football Oval to Painted Line Track, Orbost from 7.30-17.30 on May 4-5.

Image: Angryman Photography

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Podcast: Stunning Taupo Shines Through the Gloom | Supercars back in New Zealand

We’re back from our weekend in Taupo (Tow Paw), and what an unbelievable first weekend for that venue. It was, we felt, the start of this season, too, despite it being the third round. Andrew and Bruce were there, and PG was on the couch.

Brodie Kostecki was back for Erebus, Andre Heimgartner won for Brad Jones Racing, and Will Brown battled his teammate Broc Feeney for the other win. Anton De Pasquale also won the Jason Richards Trophy for the best performer over the two races – is Dick Johnson Racing back?