Vota ArticoloAraujo is provisional champion, subject to the outcome of an appeal lodged by Barwa Rally Team against Nasser AlAttiyah's exclusion from the results of the Acropolis Rally of Greece Four different drivers led the FIA Production Car World Rally Championship category on the Repco Rally Australia, but in the end Martin Prokop (CZ, Mitsubishi) showed his class by recovering from an early 20 second time loss, taking the lead half way through the 35 stage event and gradually increasing his advantage to score his first PWRC win of the season by 42.2 seconds. The win caps off a remarkable four weeks in the career of the 26year old Czech driver, after he was crowned FIA Junior World Rally Champion (subject to the publication of the results by the FIA) last month. The provisional championship standings are now subject to the outcome of an appeal by the Barwa Rally Team regarding the exclusion of Nasser AlAttiyah (QAT, Subaru) from the results of the Acropolis Rally of Greece. If the International Court of Appeal overturns the exclusion of AlAttiyah as the runnerup in Greece, then it will put the title rivals, AlAttiyah and Armindo Araújo (P, Mitsubishi), almost level on points again. With Araújo now having scored his maximum six results, AlAttiyah will need to score only point from the final round in Rally GB to become champion. Despite his winning effort in Australia, Prokop can no longer win the PWRC title, after amazing drama on the final stage saw 4th placed Toshi Arai (J, Subaru) stop with a broken input shaft. His retirement elevated Araújo up to 4th - significantly scoring the five points he needs to take a provisional 11 point lead in the PWRC standings. Codriven by Jan Tomanek, Prokop took the lead with fastest time on SS4, but the new JWRC Champion clobbered a rock midway through SS8 and damaged the intercooler. He had to continue with reduced power, arriving in service after SS9 having lost 20 second
s and dropping to 5th. After his JipoCar Team repaired the damage, the talented driver from Jihlava worked his way back up to 2nd by the end of Day 1, just 15.3 seconds behind Richard Mason (NZ, Subaru). His planned attack over the faster stages of Day 2 saw him set fastest time on the slippery and wet opening three stages to take a 6.7 second lead. A harder suspension setup for a repeat of the stages in the afternoon saw Prokop attack the now drier tests, completing them significantly quicker than he had in the morningleading to a few big moments which had him slide perilously close, and sometimes beyond, the edge of the road. Of the chasing pack, only Mason was able to respond to the pace, and Prokop's lead at the end of Day 2 was just 18.3 seconds. Mason had a controlled start to the event, running as low as 8th at one point as he explored the grip levels of the Pirelli tyres used in the WRC, which were new to him. Having quietly monitored the pace of the leaders, the 31year old from Masterton was running nicely in 6th after six stages before two stunning stage times shot him into 3rd position. He took the lead with fastest time on SS9, and a hattrick of stage wins gave him a 15.3 second lead by the end of Day 1. The double New Zealand Rally Champion was a little too cautious at the start of Day 2, and after two stages he had lost the lead to Prokop. The faster stages did not suit him as much, but a better run in the afternoon kept him within striking distance of Prokop, with the longest day of the rally in terms of stage mileage remaining. It had still been a remarkable performance, particularly considering Mason's codriver, his wife Sara, had picked up a stomach bug overnight and had been feeling extremely unwell all day. He began the final day 15 seconds behind Prokop, but when the gap doubled in two stages, Richard decided not too take huge risks and settled for a superb 2nd.
Having won the Malaysian Rally just three weeks before, the three times FIA AsiaPacific Rally Champion and current series leader Cody Crocker (AUS, Subaru) arrived in the New South Wales Northern Rivers region of the eastcoast of Australia on great form. However, the 37year old from Victoria initially found that the rear of his Impreza was sliding too much and was only able to get into a rhythm once adjustments had been made, allowing him to gain some pace and finish Day 1 in 4th, just 0.2 seconds behind 2nd. Day 2 was to prove a little frustrating, as Crocker felt he was driving quicker than his stage times suggested. Softer suspension and an extra hard push in the afternoon failed to make a difference, and whilst Crocker was losing touch a little with the top two drivers, he was in an extremely strong 3rd position. He tried to put Mason under pressure with a big push on the opening stages of Day 3, but the gap was too big and Crocker was still delighted with 3rd place.
Toshi Arai (J, Subaru) had a new Impreza for this rally, and spent much of the opening day finetuning the handling to his liking. The double PWRC champion hit a rock near the end of SS7, bending the front right suspension arm and collecting a slow rear puncture. Indeed, the most experienced driver in the series looked a little out of sorts - ending Day 1 over a minute behind the leader. It took Toshi until midway through Day 2 to get back to his hardcharging best, and after finding a setup which worked he ended the middle day in 4th. A close encounter with a tree on SS28 almost brought Day 3 to a premature end, but he recovered and was on course to finish 4th, when an input shaft stranded him on the final stage - cruelly just 2km from the finish of the rally.
Arai's dramatic SS35 retirement saw all the crews behind him unexpectedly move up a place, and this could determine who will be this year's PWRC champion.
Armindo Araújo (P, Mitsubishi) arrived in Australia leading the PWRC, celebrated his 32nd birthday on September 1st and took the early lead with fastest times on SS1 and 2. However, when he got into the forest, the man from Santo Tirso discovered his Lancer was set too low and he smashed the exhaust after a heavy landing on SS4 and slipped to 5th. That incident seemed to change Araújo's fortunes, and his tactical switch to contest Rally Australia instead of Rally GB - and maximise his pointsscoring opportunity when his nearest PWRC rival, AlAttiyah, wasn't in Australia - turned from a brilliant to a neardisastrous idea. Araújo complained of a lack of traction in the afternoon of Day 1, finding that his Lancer oversteered so much that he lost 20 seconds with a half spin on SS9. Aiming for a PWRC win, Araújo completed Day 1 in a disappointing 5th, 36.4 adrift of the leader. A new dawn brought fresh concerns, as a lack of power on the fast stages saw no improvement in position. Indeed, Araújo was lucky to still be running, after he rolled his Ralliart Italyprepared Evo IX on SS18. He lost just 10 seconds during the quick flip and a similar amount of time as he struggled to concentrate for the rest of the stage, yet his car sustained little more than light dents and scratches. Unable to catch Arai, a despondent Araújo could see his title aspirations slip away, before he passed his rival's parked Subaru on the final stage. Overcome by an emotional release of relief at the end of the final stage, Araújo knew he'd been thrown a most unlikely, and extremely last minute, championship lifeline.
Stewart Taylor (NZ, Mitsubishi) returned to competition on Rally Australia having been sidelined for several months after snapping his Archilles' tendon playing indoor cricket. He was soon displaying the form which took him to 4th in last year's New Zealand Rally Championship, despite arriving backwards onto a wooden bridge on SS22, after spinning at the approaching left hand corner! The Hawkes Bay pilot had a lucky escape when he had a "high speed excursion into a grassy area" on SS30 and was pleased to come home in 5th.
Gianluca Linari (I, Subaru) hopes of a troublefree run lasted just 100 metres, after which his Impreza picked up an electronic throttle problem on Thursday night's curtainraising Tweed 1 superspecial in Murwillumbah, losing a minute on the 2.55km stage. He enjoyed a good run on Friday, successfully shaking off the cobwebs having not driven a rally car since the Acropolis Rally of Greece 12 weeks before. Throttle problems continued to crop up intermittently during Day 2 and 3, but his persistence was rewarded with three PWRC points for finishing 6th.
Four times Australian Rally Champion Neil Bates (AUS, Toyota) gave the new Super 2000 Auris its world debut and he made a good start to his home WRC event, but dropped down the order when a 10 second penalty for a jump start on SS12 relegated him to 6th. The 44year old driver from Canberra was back up to 5th when he misjudged a fast corner over a crest on SS18 and spun. Unluckily for Bates, a branch lying on the side of the road punctured the radiator, and whilst he completed the stage without losing position, the damaged cooling system sidelined him for the rest of the day. Having collected 35 minutes of penalties for missing seven stages, Bates restarted on Day 3 - but midway through the final day he was forced to retire from only his second rally in three years when he went over the time limit trying to repair a broken fitting on an oil line.
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