Bates back on top

Harry Bates and Carol Taylor have resumed their stay at the top of the Australian Rally Championship after winning Gippsland Rally in a chaotic finale.

Heading into the final day just 12.2s separated Bates and closest rival Scott Pedder and an exciting final day was in prospect.

But a thrilling battle across the final eight stages was robbed as Pedder was victim of a dramatic Sunday.

Several incidents took Pedder out of contention, and he ended up eighth overall.

It ended up being another Bates 1-2 with Lewis Bates coming second being two and a half minutes off the pace, while Eddie Maguire and Zak Brakey joined the Toyotas on the podium.

Pedder suffered damage after the Power Stage and sat third overall but needed to return to service under his own power to claim maximum points, so dropped to eighth.

Scott Pedder’s rally had plenty of promise but ended in disaster.

For Bates, it was a vital victory after being beaten by Pedder last time out in Queensland.

“It’s a very important one for the championship, obviously being the half-way point and second half of the season starting here,” Bates said.

“A strong one for us. Obviously, we led from the first to the last stage, so very happy with that. Even today when we backed off slightly, our pace was still okay.

“I’m looking forward to battling it out for the rest of the season with Scott, but it’s nice have a bit of a points advantage now.”

Alex Rullo was in the top four at the start of the day but suffered mechanical dramas during a creek crossing, while teammates Peter Rullo and James Marquet also had to retire the following stage.

Production ARC Cup, Molly Taylor and co-driver Andy Sarandis would end her final round of 2024 with a class win despite suffering some late scares.

Nick Seymour and co-driver Matt Whitten continued their momentum from Saturday to take out an impressive class victory in 2WD.

The 2WD Classic honours were taken by Ivan Thompson and Lachlan Nordsvan were victorious in their crowd favourite Ford Capri.

The first Subaru WRX Challenge victory would go to Timothy Clark and Leonie Clark.

The next round of the Australian Rally Championship is the Adelaide Hills Rally on September 13-15.

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