SOME of the best rally drivers from around Australia gathered at NATA oval on Saturday for the second running of the Narooma Forest Rally, a round of the NSW and ACT Championships. They were welcomed with beautiful sunny skies, as they set their sights on the fantastic forest roads that surround Narooma.
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Top Australian Championship competitors Adrian Coppin and Erin Kelly led the field away, the first of the crews to tackle the challenging and slippery roads at full pace. Coppin, from Canberra, and Kelly, from Brisbane, were using the event as a shakedown for their new rally car before they venture to Coffs Harbour for Australia’s round of the World Rally Championship.
“We are so pleased that we found time in our rally calendar this year to come to Narooma and compete on what are clearly some of the best roads in Australia,” Coppin said.
“The Brindabella Motor Sport Club puts on a fantastic event and it’s great to see the support from the Narooma community and businesses.”
After 60km of racing over four stages, the crews returned to NATA oval for some lunch, before heading out again for the afternoon. It was tight at the front, with Andrew Penny and Rhys Llewellyn from Jindabyne holding a slender lead of nine seconds from Harry Bates of Canberra and John McCarthy, and father son team Doug and David Wright only 31 seconds further back.
By the end of the day, the top three order would not change, with Penny and Llewellyn only able to increase their lead to 10 seconds by the end of the event, holding on for a well-deserved win.
“What a great event!” Penny said. “We’ve been working so hard to improve the car and our times, and it’s great to finally get the result we deserve.”
Second place Harry Bates was pleased with his times, but slightly disappointed that he couldn’t improve his result from last year where he also finished in second place.
“We were pushing really hard in the second loop, but Andrew and Rhys just had our measure and managed to hold on for the win. We were really happy with our result though, and we can only improve from here,” Bates said.
Event organiser Michael Taylor expressed his thanks to the local community for their support for the event.
“We are very grateful for the support of Eurobodalla Council and NSW Forestry for allowing the event to run, and also to Maree and Tony Bromage from Horizon Holiday Apartments, Club Narooma, and the Lions Club for their support of the event,” Taylor said.
“We and the competitors cannot wait to return next year.”
