ARC Queensland ready for the dust and sunshine 

The dust is stirring on the Australian Rally Championships (ARC) third round of action in Queensland, with over 60 crews expected to be greeted with good weather across the two days at Gympie.

2024 is already shaping as another battle of the Bates brothers, with the GR Yaris Rally2 pair leading this year’s pointscore with reigning champion Harry Bates on 146, and 2022 champion Lewis on 116.

Last year at Rally Queensland, Harry snapped a year-long losing streak in the Sunshine state, which set him on his way to a second ARC title alongside co-driver Coral Taylor.

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In pursuit and close on points is Alex Rullo (Hyundai i20 Rally2) and Skoda driver Scott Peddar on 109 and 104 points respectively, whilst Eddie McGuire (Skoda Fabia R5) is only one point back on Peddar.

Molly Taylor conducts her pre-race recce ahead of this weekend’s action. Image/Main Image: CH Images

Action gets underway on Saturday morning, kickstarting 14 stages of action across the two days in Gympie and Imbil regions, with daily wrap shows available each night free via 7plus, and a highlights show to be available post event on both 7plus and 7mate.

There’s some talented names returning for the ARC Rally Queensland, with Luke Anear returning to national duty in the Championship winning GR Yaris AP4 of 2022 that was piloted by Lewis Bates, with last year’s Production Cup champ – Bodie Reading – also making a comeback.

Reading will be trying to reclaim his title over the four remaining rounds available alongside co-driver Mark Young, but they’ll have their hands full in trying to rundown Molly Taylor, who leads the way in her Subaru on 140 points.

“Rally Queensland is an amazing place for rally. It’s a great location,” Taylor said.

“The roads there are really demanding, some really technical, quite rough.”

Searcy and Maguire get some dust through their tyres in the #10 Skoda Fabia R5 in the lead-up. Image: CH Images

In pursuit of some spots on the pointscore, Maguire also gave his thoughts on the challenges posed by the Gympie and Imbil roads, saying that, “It’s probably the hottest rally on the calendar in terms of managing the car and getting it through without damage,” he said.

Kicking off the event is tonight’s traditional and iconic Wheels on Mary street party, with all the crews and their cars set to line Mary Street for the night time spectacle, allowing fans the opportunity to get signatures and photos with their favourite cars and stars.

Check out the latest edition of AUTO ACTION which includes a great interview with Lewis Bates by Paul Gover, and how he’s approaching Queensland to end his winning drought. Click the link below to read issue #1889.

READ THE LATEST ISSUE OF AUTO ACTION DIGITAL HERE

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