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The Motorsport Brief: Australian Rally Championship Preview · Rusty's Garage

• 0:02
  A listener production.
• 0:04
  Welcome to the Motorsport Brief.
• 0:06
  It's Friday the 5th of April 2024.
• 0:08
  We're live in Canberra, surrounded by some of the best rally drivers and cars in the country, ahead of round one of the Australian Rally Championship this weekend.
• 0:21
  Hi, everybody.
• 0:22
  Rusty with you for another special edition, but this time on location of the Rusty's Garage Shortcast.
• 0:28
  In a moment, we'll wander around Service Park here for a preview.
• 0:32
  Many of the key competitors are off in the forest doing some reconnaissance at the moment, but there's other key figures in the sport that will doorstop for that preview.
• 0:40
  There is some wild weather on the way, too, which could make it interesting, but there is...
• 0:44
  a really positive energy about this season because of the impressive lineup of cars and competitors.
• 0:50
  It's got a bit of the vibe that we enjoyed back in 2005 and 06.
• 0:55
  Now, if you haven't already, do yourself a favor.
• 0:58
  Check out our latest feature ep with Jack Perkins.
• 1:01
  A two-parter which we recorded in the workshop around some very special cars.
• 1:06
  Jack does an incredible job preserving priceless pieces of Perkins engineering history.
• 1:12
  The restoration work is something else.
• 1:14
  I love chatting to him about his grandfather's racing.
• 1:18
  World War II, the history of his grandfather around the Air Force and planes and so on.
• 1:23
  We reminisced a little about his dad, Larry, LP, in the 1970s in Formula One, and Jack opens up a bit on his future too.
• 1:31
  For those of you who have already listened, thank you very much for your feedback.
• 1:36
  Now, the Bosch Motorsport Australia Rally Championship is scheduled for six rounds.
• 1:39
  We head west to the Forest Rally in WA in May, to Queensland at the end of June, Gippsland in August, to the Adelaide Hills, some great roads there in mid-September, before wrapping up in Tassie in November.
• 1:53
  But it all kicks off in the nation's capital here, a place with some famous roads...
• 1:58
  and the site of one of the closest finishers in the history of the sport.
• 2:02
  It was a nail-biting title decider in 2023.
• 2:06
  What will this year bring?
• 2:08
  Let's have a wander around and catch up with some of the key players.
• 2:11
  MUSIC
• 2:16
  Hello, Dean Herridge.
• 2:17
  Hello, mate.
• 2:17
  How are you?
• 2:18
  Broadcasting for you.
• 2:19
  I mean, firstly, when we look back at the epic end to the 2023 championship, you were there, you were calling it.
• 2:26
  It doesn't get more nail-biting than that, really, does it?
• 2:28
  No, and you think, could it be?
• 2:30
  Will it come down to one stage?
• 2:32
  I think it won't.
• 2:33
  really hit us all for another 10 years.
• 2:35
  You know, when you look back and go, wow, an Australian championship came down to one stage, you know, X amount of Ks, two brothers, 2.1 seconds in it was amazing.
• 2:44
  So, no, what an epic way to finish the season.
• 2:46
  It's really, I think, excited the whole...
• 2:49
  scene and rally fraternity coming into this year you can see the the cars and the feeling and coming up to Canberra as well the same event is an amazing way to kick off this season.
• 2:57
  If memory serves you had some success here back in the day as a driver too didn't you?
• 3:01
  Give us I mean for me I immediately think of legendary places like Mineshaft I mean there are some unbelievable roads around this place aren't there?
• 3:09
  I think it's summed up, it sounds silly, Canberra is probably one of the hardest places to rally in the country.
• 3:14
  It's like the other five rounds combined.
• 3:17
  You know, that first day and those roads are so technical.
• 3:20
  When the rain hits them, it changes the dynamic a lot.
• 3:22
  So, you know, I guess I was a technical driver, not the bravest, and here was technical and just not making mistakes and things like that.
• 3:28
  So this is a really tricky way to start the season.
• 3:31
  It was a tricky way to end last season.
• 3:33
  You know, we were fortunate enough to win in 2004 when it was part of the Asia Pacific.
• 3:37
  I think you're on the mic here.
• 3:38
  at the time.
• 3:40
  And so I had fond memories, but it was sort of one of my stronger events because of that.
• 3:43
  And also at those times, it was more of an endurance-style event, three days Asia-Pacific, a bit like the WRC.
• 3:49
  Unlike you.
• 3:49
  I've got grey hair since then, but...
• 3:51
  I've got some coming.
• 3:53
  This championship this year does have a bit of that feel about it from back then, doesn't it?
• 3:57
  We had great manufacturers back then, A-list drivers and so on.
• 4:01
  And we've got a bit of that vibe, if you like, returning to the sport.
• 4:05
  Yeah, and a little bit of that because we've got these Rally 2 cars coming in now.
• 4:09
  Look at the cars we're looking at.
• 4:10
  These are dedicated rally cars.
• 4:12
  I mean, my era was production-based cars turned into rally cars, and they're still prominent in Australia.
• 4:17
  But this new next level of car coming in combined.
• 4:20
  with some you know up and emerging talent some established names and things is making from a really fantastic season going to be hard fought and now you can look at the top you know six or eight and go on the right day and in any conditions one of these could prop up and be a podium or even take a win and that's what's exciting it's not now gaps of 30 seconds or 40 even a minute which still could happen but the battle packs and the
• 4:41
  the stages are now being you know the strange championship god they come down 2.1 seconds last year between brothers and now we add the mix of you know the maguire brothers who come in who are strong uh scott petters back you know people like that and the rulos in these rally two cars and then molly taylor still in a production car fighting away so you know like i said the depth's definitely there let's add to the unpredictability equation that you've outlined there and that is new control
• 5:05
  Yeah, and you know about bringing a new control train, not a lot of time to test with these tyres, and any testing that's been done that I know about has been done in the dry.
• 5:14
  So some teams, lead teams, might have done a day or two maximum on this new MRF tyre, and of course we're standing here with it drizzling at the moment, and I just said it was the trickiest rally ever.
• 5:23
  New control tyre, first round of the season, first day, add water.
• 5:27
  It could be chaos out there.
• 5:29
  Cool.
• 5:29
  We're talking MRF tyres there, obviously.
• 5:30
  So let's bounce around a couple of the players in the service park as we stand here at the moment.
• 5:35
  Firstly, to our right, Toyota Gazoo Racing, Neil Bates Motorsport.
• 5:39
  And they sort of have, to begin the championship, a foot in both camps.
• 5:43
  Lewis, the 2022 champion, Lewis Bates has stability on his side, a known quantity in the existing Yaris that's so beautifully built by them.
• 5:51
  But Harry Bates...
• 5:53
  the reigning champion comes in with a brand new machine built in Europe, a little bit untried and tested in this part of the world.
• 5:59
  Is there going to be a settling in phase for them with this new machine?
• 6:03
  I think yes, there has to be.
• 6:04
  I mean, Toyota will, and they know how to make rally cars.
• 6:07
  They're the strongest team in the world championship.
• 6:09
  They're the biggest manufacturer in the world.
• 6:10
  So they know what they're doing.
• 6:12
  However, any new car takes time.
• 6:14
  I've only seen it in Monte Carlo and Sweden, and now it's rocking up here in Canberra.
• 6:18
  There will have to be a settling in phase.
• 6:20
  Harry's no fool, and Toyota and Neil, they know how to get around it, but I do feel that's a little bit of doubt in their mind.
• 6:27
  And then, like I said, I think with a tricky rally like this to start with, I'm expecting them to...
• 6:32
  struggle a little bit, for want of a better term, that's my prediction.
• 6:34
  I've just got this gut feel about it.
• 6:36
  Lewis is settled.
• 6:37
  I'm sure he loved the new car, and I'm sure as time goes on, it'll be the car to be in.
• 6:41
  You're matching with Europe and all that sort of stuff.
• 6:43
  But Lewis, like you said, has the stability there.
• 6:45
  Him and McLaughlin are going really well as a combination over many years.
• 6:49
  They won the championship a couple of years back.
• 6:50
  So I think he'll be quite comfortable to go, I know what I'm in.
• 6:54
  We'll see how the first couple of rounds shake down before my car rocks up.
• 6:57
  So I feel like that's part of it.
• 6:59
  Also remember...
• 7:00
  There's now this bit of the proud cars that they've always built and beautifully done at Neil Base Motorsport.
• 7:06
  It's the first time they've bought in a car for many, many years, probably since the days of Neil having a WRC car.
• 7:12
  What's the language like?
• 7:14
  You're a manufacturing-supported team.
• 7:16
  You can't go one way or the other.
• 7:18
  So there's sort of this internal struggle on do we push how well and what we did over the last few years with our AP4 car versus how good this.
• 7:25
  There'll be people nervous in Europe and I'll tell you absolutely about how the results will shake down here in Australia.
• 7:29
  I would love to think, mate, that some of the pioneering stuff that they have done literally down the road here in Canberra has maybe filtered through to that Yaris.
• 7:39
  Maybe there's a little bit of Neil Bates motorsport DNA in there.
• 7:42
  There absolutely is, because last year I know they were getting engines done in Europe and they were working with the factory team.
• 7:48
  And a lot of the stuff, I think there was small components made where they said, hey, can you input, can you send us what you've done, can you send us the data?
• 7:54
  So absolutely there is some DNA from Australia in those Toyotas, which will be pretty cool.
• 7:58
  I mean, it's an amazing bit of kit, and I think by the end of the season, it's probably the car they'll need to move forward and take on, you know, the likes of the Hyundai and the Skodas and the Fords that are here.
• 8:06
  So it's just part of the transition, but it's early phases, and they've only had it for a couple of weeks.
• 8:11
  Just before we give a snapshot of some of the other competitors, to wrap up on Lewis, a little later in the year, he has got a really cool opportunity.
• 8:19
  Oh, or his car before it comes into Australia.
• 8:21
  They've done a deal with the support of Lucanera and Safety Culture to be able to run the Toyota in Portugal.
• 8:27
  Great opportunity for him to do a WRC event in a Rally 2 car.
• 8:31
  He's probably been able to pick the best event for an Australian to try and go and do in Portugal.
• 8:36
  a bit of a mixture of what the Australian Championship's like.
• 8:38
  He's not going off to a one-off really specialised event like Finland or Sweden or something where we would clearly need a bit of time in the car.
• 8:44
  So that is an awesome opportunity for him to go and do that.
• 8:46
  And I believe that's the car that they'll then ultimately ship off to Australia.
• 8:50
  Because they're so new in the phase of rally too, Toyota, you literally nearly can't get a car.
• 8:54
  So I think Harry's nearly came directly from the factory on a plane to come out here in time.
• 9:00
  And the timing with Lewis's is we'll go and try and use it in an event, the WRC, and then bring it in.
• 9:04
  So a good chance of him to shake it down before coming to Australia, of course, as well.
• 9:07
  The transporter parked immediately beyond Neil Bates Motorsport is the Rouleau family.
• 9:12
  You know what Peter is like from Targa competition in Western Australia.
• 9:16
  His son, Alex, I've had a bit to do with over time when he competed in supercars, for example.
• 9:20
  Hyundai i20.
• 9:21
  I mean, this is a big commitment for them.
• 9:25
  Is there kind of team orders, do you think, in the family?
• 9:28
  I think like most families, I think Peter's going, holy shit, young fella, you go and just do it because it's much easier.
• 9:34
  Alex has adapted really well to rally, actually.
• 9:36
  I think he surprised a few people because we didn't really know where his circuit racing credentials are.
• 9:41
  Sometimes it's a bit hard to know what cars are in and which era and stuff like that.
• 9:45
  I think he, you know, one, they both love it.
• 9:47
  Like, I think Peter's gone, man, I should have been doing gravel rallying 20 years ago when he was a bit younger.
• 9:51
  And he's now catapulted to even go and do Rally Sweden in a Rally 2 car.
• 9:55
  So Peter's really loving it.
• 9:56
  And those opportunities hopefully flow through to Alex as well.
• 9:59
  But they took the Hyundai version of the Rally 2.
• 10:01
  So, you know, Hyundai prominent in the World Championship.
• 10:03
  They brought those cars in, had a few little teething issues with them last year.
• 10:07
  So they're a bit more settled.
• 10:08
  They've sort of done that phase that Toyota will go through this year.
• 10:11
  Peter's out there to have a cracking time.
• 10:13
  He's a very good steerer.
• 10:14
  But I think the eyes and the push for stage times is on Alex.
• 10:18
  And I think that year he's done will set him up really well for this season.
• 10:22
  Got Steve Glennie on board.
• 10:24
  Steve's in there because he's a fantastic driver in his own right.
• 10:27
  you know, former Targa Tasmanian winner, won Australian Championship rounds, but somehow as a lunatic and can sit in the passenger seat.
• 10:33
  So from a pace noting point of view, which is really difficult in our sport, Steve would have been bringing Alex along in leaps and bounds to be able to assist with the writing initially.
• 10:42
  And as Alex now creates his own style, his own language with these notes.
• 10:45
  So, you know...
• 10:46
  Steve was putting the car on purpose.
• 10:47
  They're loving it, you know, full support and, you know, right into the Australian Championship.
• 10:51
  So a great addition.
• 10:52
  And I think you'll see, I mean, he propped up occasionally when he won a super stage last year when you sort of were probably more comfortable on where he could see, and it was a bit of a stadium style thing.
• 11:01
  I think this year you'll see as the season progresses, he'll prop up and win forest stages during the year.
• 11:06
  It'll be hard to put a whole rally together, I think, to win early, in my opinion.
• 11:10
  But don't be surprised if you see Alex on a podium at some stage in the year.
• 11:14
  Cool.
• 11:15
  Impressive step up from the Maguires.
• 11:17
  Can I come to Scott Petter, who you mentioned there before?
• 11:19
  You're having a little bit to do with this program for him.
• 11:22
  I mean, he won the championship a decade ago.
• 11:25
  He's really enthused about being back for different reasons, not just the cars.
• 11:31
  He's been enormously fast in his history, but with a little bit of time, his very successful work managing and running Pedders in Australia, are we going to see a different Scott Pedder this time?
• 11:44
  Is it going to be a bit more of a consistent play for him in the 24 series?
• 11:49
  That's the exact word.
• 11:50
  That's what he has to do.
• 11:51
  The language of not speaking to him as a mate and we've rallied together for 25 years is the monkey's off the back, mate.
• 11:57
  You've won the championship.
• 11:58
  You know you've got pace.
• 11:59
  He came out last year and obviously set some amazing stage times in Gippsland in a Skoda and, you know, one stages outright and beat Harry.
• 12:07
  That probably gave him a taste.
• 12:08
  We put him in the Subaru Challenge cars.
• 12:10
  It'll be the one make series we're proposing for later this year.
• 12:13
  And he just had a ball.
• 12:14
  Glenn McNeil alongside, and I think that was part of it.
• 12:17
  He wanted the right pocket of people to say, Dean, I want to have fun with it.
• 12:20
  I want to really enjoy it.
• 12:21
  This is my sport.
• 12:22
  It's my thing.
• 12:23
  And so I think all those things had to land for him to almost go, I need the right people around me to just have a great time first and foremost.
• 12:29
  You've got pace.
• 12:30
  He'll be fast.
• 12:32
  And if that translates to having a good time, I think it'll just...
• 12:35
  cool down, Scotty.
• 12:36
  You don't have to win every stage.
• 12:37
  Just try and be there.
• 12:39
  Finish every day would be all, every event, every day of every event, and you'd be in the mix because he's got the pace.
• 12:44
  That's the thing.
• 12:44
  So I think for you, you know, coming in, you'll see Scott Petter and chat in and amongst, and I feel you'll be the best judge to go, wow, this is a different Scott Petter to 10, 15 years ago.
• 12:53
  All right.
• 12:54
  I'm told from my buddies Matt McKeldin, Stevie Johnson, you were on their radio show, The Driver's Seat, the other night, that there is a little handshake deal.
• 13:02
  And the handshake deal goes a little something like this.
• 13:05
  If he wins the championship, you will have a little pedal in that car.
• 13:09
  Is that true?
• 13:10
  Will you pull the helmet on and do that later this year?
• 13:12
  I will.
• 13:12
  You know why?
• 13:12
  Because I dodged a bullet.
• 13:13
  He wanted me to drive it at the start of the season.
• 13:15
  You should have seen Romain, our lead guy in the car.
• 13:18
  He freaked out.
• 13:18
  He was going, don't give Dean the car prior to the season.
• 13:21
  And I all of a sudden got nervous sitting there when the offer got put on there.
• 13:24
  He just said, Dean, these are just an amazing bit of kit.
• 13:27
  I mean, my whole life, like I said, has been around Subaru brand and production cars going rallying.
• 13:31
  So I said, all right, Tiger, let's go.
• 13:34
  You win the championship, end of the season celebration, I'll have a run.
• 13:36
  So if he did, I'll tell you what, I would put the helmet on and over crack.
• 13:39
  Beautiful.
• 13:40
  I look forward to that.
• 13:40
  Finally, you and I are going to be doing some TV stuff together, which is tremendous.
• 13:44
  We're renewing a great partnership that we've had on air in the past and a friendship that's been around for many years, which I think is awesome.
• 13:51
  And I feel like we bring different strengths to the table here.
• 13:53
  We're going to have a kind of panel show element to this.
• 13:56
  We will debrief naturally what happens in the contest in a competitive sense, but also get to unmask some of the drivers.
• 14:02
  You'll bring a technical side to it.
• 14:04
  And we'll sprinkle or complement that with some social media too and what we do for Seven Plus.
• 14:09
  Yeah, absolutely.
• 14:10
  I think E-Rotor stayed on board.
• 14:11
  We'll do a lot of live.
• 14:12
  We had a lot of great feedback last year that people like us being out in the forest.
• 14:15
  You think when they've got eyeballs on here in the sports building, sometimes just being there live and almost spectating from your laptop or your iPad or whatever else.
• 14:23
  So bringing that to the table, like you said, awesome, that we'll be able to bounce the stuff off.
• 14:27
  And I think bringing the storylines here, when we talk the great cars and the personalities that are here, trying to bring that to life and really dig down into some of that stuff as the season progresses.
• 14:36
  Because, like I said, we've got a great service park and a season ahead.
• 14:39
  You know, each round has its own storyline as well.
• 14:42
  We have like a mini WRC here in the fact that Canberra is very different to Perth, it's very different to Queensland.
• 14:46
  So, you know, that's what I think makes for an amazing championship.
• 14:49
  And if you win an Australian title, you've definitely earned it.
• 14:52
  You have had...
• 14:53
  The entire time I've known you, the most perfect hair.
• 14:56
  I reckon I'm a close runner-up.
• 14:57
  May the best man win.
• 14:59
  We'll be OK if this is windy.
• 15:01
  You'll probably win in that stage.
• 15:16
  Here's Adrian Coppin, manager of the Australian Rally Championship.
• 15:19
  Nice to catch up with you.
• 15:20
  Can we start by basically saying, is there a little part of you as a competitor, a bit envious of the state of the championship this year?
• 15:28
  I know you'd love to be playing on that side, wouldn't you?
• 15:32
  I kind of would at the moment actually, to be honest.
• 15:33
  For the last few years I haven't, but I don't know, there's nothing about this year, it's pretty exciting.
• 15:37
  So there's a little bit of, I've seen the cars testing yesterday and I was like, oh, that would be nice to get back in a car.
• 15:41
  But no, look, thoroughly enjoying what I'm doing and the growth of the championship's been exceptional and so it's been a big team effort and I'm really happy with where we're going and heading into this year.
• 15:49
  The entry list looks amazing, roll-up of cars, competitors and so on.
• 15:53
  I mean, that sort of wave or boost of enthusiasm must be really good for the future of the sport.
• 16:01
  Yeah, certainly.
• 16:01
  I think we're in a really good place.
• 16:03
  There's lots of new cars and what I call new gen cars, whether they're, you know, Rally 2 cars, AP4, G4, that are now in the country or being built.
• 16:11
  And I think if you're investing that sort of money in those sort of cars, you're doing that for the Australian Championship.
• 16:16
  I think there's a good bet of cars here now that we'll see the championship be sustainable for the next few years for sure.
• 16:22
  I've covered off in the introduction about where we're headed in 2024, all the different rounds.
• 16:26
  We kind of crisscrossed the country, which is tremendous.
• 16:29
  Let's not get hit by a truck here, which is backing into place in Service Park.
• 16:34
  But coordinating all that with the people you need, the volunteers you need, it's a massive undertaking, isn't it?
• 16:39
  Yeah, it is.
• 16:40
  It's a very big honor.
• 16:41
  Taking six rounds spread across the country, all kicking off this weekend in Canberra, then we head straight to Perth.
• 16:45
  So, you know, from our point of view, with the championship, we've really tried to grow the show and, you know, the service park presence.
• 16:53
  And this year we've got Petters Suspension and Brakes on board to sponsoring the service park.
• 16:56
  So there's the infrastructure that goes with that, plus we've been, you know, the broadcast team stepped up.
• 17:00
  So, yeah, logistically it's a big feat.
• 17:03
  And then you throw in, you know, the Speed Series and you throw in the championship, the Grand Prix, everything else.
• 17:06
  It's, yeah, pretty chaotic.
• 17:08
  That was where I was leading to because you're kind of overarching title.
• 17:11
  While Rally is your baby in that sort of general manager event space, you are busy.
• 17:16
  We see you Shannon Speed Series and all sorts, don't we?
• 17:18
  Yeah, I think it's 12th Canada this year, 24 events this year.
• 17:22
  Now I won't get to all of them, but I've got to oversee all of them and try and spread myself around.
• 17:26
  So what a really small but powerful team at Motorsport Australia and we kick some big goals.
• 17:31
  You've been good with your time here chatting in Service Park, but I know you have a bit on your plate, literally, as we talk here.
• 17:37
  The forecast doesn't look terrific, and you're sort of adjusting on the run here, aren't you?
• 17:42
  Yeah, definitely.
• 17:43
  Adrian Dudock and the Brindabella Motorsport Club are known for putting on a wet event.
• 17:47
  Unfortunately, it's a bit of a trait.
• 17:49
  But, yeah, we've unfortunately lost one stage this morning already.
• 17:52
  The guys were out there doing recce, and it's a stage that's notoriously slippery with red clay.
• 17:57
  So a couple of cars had a bit of issue in recce, so that made it...
• 18:00
  decision early to cancel that one and we're just going to have to react over the weekend and see how much we can run.
• 18:05
  The rules state, 25%, we can give away half points, the total stage distance, so that's what we'll be aiming for at a minimum, but the more we can do, the better it is for everybody.
• 18:13
  Hopefully it clears up for Sunday.
• 18:15
  I think that's the long-range forecast that we'll get an improvement over the weekend.
• 18:19
  Thanks for talking to us and let's hope it's a great year.
• 18:21
  Thanks, Rusty.
• 18:22
  Look forward to it.
• 18:29
  So there you go.
• 18:30
  At the time of recording, there was a huge amount of rain on the radar moving across New South Wales and this region, which has seen some of the pre-event activity cancelled.
• 18:41
  So hopefully it doesn't cause the organisers, like Adrian, too many more headaches.
• 18:46
  If you're in this part of the world,
• 18:47
  come and check it out.
• 18:48
  Make sure you come and say hi to.
• 18:50
  We love catching up with our Rusty's Garage listeners.
• 18:53
  Catch the coverage on 7 Plus over the weekend.
• 18:56
  Our new panel show, updates on what's happened on the stages.
• 18:59
  There'll be lots of content on socials too.
• 19:01
  Next week, we'll endeavour to chat with some supercars drivers who've been quietly cutting laps in lots of different cars, trying to get acquainted with the tow-paw circuit ahead of this month's return to New Zealand.
• 19:13
  And keep an eye out on your notifications for our next feature episode.
• 19:17
  Due out next week, former HRT engineer Chris Dyer, who was a part of the emergence of HRT.
• 19:24
  He was there in 96 when Craig Lowndes took the Triple Crown, the title, and then Sandown and Bathurst with Greg Murphy.
• 19:31
  Chris then headed off to Formula One.
• 19:33
  He worked with Damon Hill, Jos Verstappen, Kimi Raikkonen, and most famously with Michael Schumacher.
• 19:40
  Plus, what he's up to now with Neon McLaren in Formula E. That is a fantastic chat, that one.
• 19:46
  Great stories of working with legends and some inspiring stuff too for those of you that may be contemplating a career on the engineering side.
• 19:54
  That is it for today.
• 19:55
  Have a ripper weekend, everybody.
• 19:57
  Bye for now.