THE sounds of highly stressed rally vehicles descended upon the forests surrounding Bulahdelah on Sunday August 22 for the Myall Stages and Myall Lakes rally.
The Myall Stages, round four of the NSW State Rally Championship attracted a quality field of 4WD turbo charged vehicles with the Mitsubishi Evolution vehicles making up the majority of entries. With the leading competitors present the battle at the head of the field was sure to keep all the crews on their toes.
With 10 competitive stages, the competition crews faced the ultimate test of reliability and endurance. Vehicles were timed to the second, making each stage critical, with the lead changing on each stage.
John Mitchell and Jo Cadman in the Mitsubishi Evo 7 took the lead with sizzling times over the first three stages, holding a one second lead over the Coffs Harbour crew of Nathan Quinn and David Green, Mitshbishi Evo 9. Peter Roberts and Sue South, a new team, took time to settle into the car, but were not far off the pace and proved that consistency provided a much needed result at the end of the event.
Leading Newcastle team of Chris Giddins and Damian Grahame in the older Mitsubishi Evo 2 showed that experience and a well sorted vehicle is still very much in the contest, until a flat tyre needed to be changed in Special Stage three, dropping the crew from third outright to 24. The team fought all day, setting stage time in the top half dozen to finish in 11th outright.
Young up and coming combination Timothy Wilkins and Kirrelee Gentleman continually placed in the top 10 stage times in their second event together, in a Mitsubishi Evo 3. Wilkins eventually brought the car home in a creditable eighth outright and is sure to be one to look out for during 2011.
Held in conjunction with the event was the Myall Lakes Rally, held for competitors who do not wish to compete at the state level and just have an ambition to compete against people that have just entered the sport.
The event was won by Matt Amos and Zoey Gillis in a Mitsubishi Evo 8. They were followed home by Toby Goldburg and Craig Van Munster in a Nissan Silvia S13, their first event in the car. The pair are sure to give more experienced crews a run for there money, as they gain more experience behind the wheel.
The event would not be possible without the assistance of the Great Lakes Council, Bulahdelah Show Society, Bulahdelah Bowling Club, Forests NSW, National Parks and Wildlife and NSW Police Service who all provide the necessary permissions and provide facilities for the competitors and the Nissan Datsun Drivers’ Club the organisers of the Myall Stages and Myall Lakes Rally.
Graham Humphreys
Nissan Datsun Drivers Club
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