Lewis Bates became the third member of his family to win the Australian Rally Championship title after finishing second in the Coffs Coast Rally.
Combined with co-driver Anthony McLoughlin, Bates joins his brother Harry, and four-time winning father, Neal, as Australian title holders.
The younger brother of team-mate Harry, Lewis went into the event needing to finish strongly to claim the title, and when his brother crashed out two stages from the finish, the title was his to lose.
He won the title in style too, setting the fastest time on the final Power Stage.
Harry’s crash was a big one and left his co-driver, John McCarthy, concussed and requiring two nights in hospital under observation.
Their Toyota GR Yaris AP4 was badly damaged in the accident and McCarthy’s need for medical attention forced the cancellation of the first stage on Sunday afternoon’s loop.
Hayden Paddon took the overall rally win in his Hyundai, but Australian Rally Championship honours went to local hero, Nathan Quinn, in his Hyundai i20 G4, complete with Mitsubishi Lancer engine and running gear.
In second place, Lewis Bates was followed by another Toyota Yaris AP4, driven by Irishman Richie Dalton.
The rally used many of the roads made famous by Rally Australia from 2011 to 2018, and while wet weather has been the common feature of this year’s national series, hot, dry and extremely dusty conditions greeted crews.
For rally winner Lewis Bates, it was a time to contemplate what he’d achieved, and to ponder having his name up there in lights with the greats of Australian rallying.
“It’s obviously extremely special to have my name next to Possum Bourne’s name on the Possum Bourne Memorial Trophy. Words can’t really describe how I feel, but it’s absolutely amazing,” he said.
“Possum was an absolutely great driver who battled against Dad for numerous years, for numerous Australian Rally Championship titles. So yeah, it’s just an absolute honour.”
Harry Bates had been the dominant force through the opening three rounds of the 2022 title race, but the 2018 had retirements on the last three rallies – two from mechanical failures.
Next year’s Aussie series gets underway in March when crews head to Tasmania for Rally Launceston, the first of six rounds.
Can Quinn claim back-to-back rally wins?
Fresh from his win in the Coffs Coast Rally, Nathan Quinn is the top seed in this week’s four-day Alpine Rally in Victoria.
Driving a 1970 Mazda RX2, he heads a 115-car field in the 100th anniversary of the rally, and will aim to defend the Alpine title he won when the rally was last held in 2019.
“It will be a tough event,” Quinn said. “I don’t know if any of us drivers know how to drive for 420 kilometres.
“I don’t think it’s going to be about driving flat out, it will be more about being there at the finish with as few problems as possible.”
Datsuns dominate the field with the second seed Brendan Reeves in a Datsun 1600, followed by former winner, Jack Monkhouse, in a Datsun 180B SSS.
The only Escort likely to threaten for a podium place is the RS1800 of Luke Sytema – a Deane Buist-built car that ran the Otago and Silver Fern Rallies in the hands of Geoff Portman in 2012.
The rally will be centred around Lakes Entrance in the Gippland region on Victoria’s north east coast, with 26 stages and 420 kilometres of competitive driving.
Three short stages on Thursday afternoon will set the start order for day two, before three further days of tough competition in what promises to be warm and dusty conditions.
The full Alpine Rally entry list can be found at: https://alpinerally.org.au/
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