Bates fights back to claim Forest Rally
Harry Bates and Coral Taylor put in a fighting performance to overcome a 2m23s deficit on the final day to snatch the 2024 Forest Rally in WA.
After the opening day of the Forest Rally, Scott Pedder was the driver to beat as Bates/Taylor suffered mechanical dramas and time penalties.
However, the reigning champions put in a special performance across the second heat and a big win on Stage 9 proved decisive as Pedder lost significant time with a broken cylinder.
Driving the new #1 Toyota GT Yaris Rally2, Bates and Taylor rose under pressure to ultimately win by 32.6s and give Neal Bates Motorsport/Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia another win.
Eddie Maguire and Zak Brakey scored enough points to secure an overall event runner-up finish, while Alex Rullo and Steve Glenney finished on equal points with Scott Pedder and Glenn Macneall but claimed the final place of the event podium due to total time count back
Having dominated the Canberra opener, the latest success extends Harry Bates’ ARC championship lead, but the second success was much more hard fought.
“I just wanted to say a massive thank you to Neal Bates Motorsport for their efforts,” Harry said.
“They had a fair few issues thrown at them this weekend from my mistakes and they worked and worked at it to make sure we had a good car.
“It was a real team effort this weekend and I am really proud of them all.
“It’s silly the mistake I made on stage one but sometimes that’s when you can get the best out of yourself, when you have your back against the wall.
“I am pretty proud of the way we have fought this weekend.”
Pedder appeared to be the driver to beat heading into Sunday, but the Forest Rally was turned on its head on Sunday’s third stage when the Skoda Fabia R5 of Pedder and Macneall sustained a broken cylinder, causing the event leaders to limp home on the stage and lose significant time.
While the Heat 1 winners managed to finish the rally, any hope of winning the event was over as they ended the day almost five minutes off the pace and in ninth overall.
This opened the door for Bates and Taylor to win again, which they did, as a big battle emerged for second in Heat 2 as just six seconds separated Lewis Bates, Maguire and Rullo, who won the penultimate stage, heading into the day’s final stage.
As Lewis Bates took the rally-ending Power Stage, he sealed second for Heat 2 and fifth overall. while Rullo secured another podium.
Molly Taylor and Andy Sarandis won the ARC Production Cup after a brilliant Sunday.
Molly Taylor and Sarandis lost out on Heat 1 Production Cup honours when they received a late penalty on the final stage to fall behind Craig Rando and Scott Beckwith.
However, a near perfect final day saw them push to a two-minute win over Josh Wiedman and Nick Reid, while Rando and Beckwith had a troubled time.
David and Kelly Thomas completed a clean sweep of ARC 2WD Cup stage wins, while Tony Oates and Niamh Nairn were victorious in the 2WD Classic Cup.
The Bosch Motorsport Australia Rally Championship continues next month with the Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland in Gympie on June 28-30.
Image: Dakar Press Team Australia
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