Third Time A Charm For Honda At Coffs Coast

TULLAMARINE, AUSTRALIA – Sept 12, 2011: It was third time lucky for the Honda Civic Type R of Eli Evans and Glen Weston, with the pair placing third outright to secure another podium in the 2011 Bosch Australian Rally Championship.

Round Four of the Bosch ARC, the Coffs Coast Forest Rally, was held together with Round Ten of the World Rally Championship, giving competitors the chance to show their worth in front of an International audience.

Heavy overnight rain on the first day made conditions difficult for all competitors and the Evans Motorsport team made some adjustments to their game plan. “That was the first really wet rally that I have done in the Honda,” Evans said. “It was probably one of the most hazardous surfaces I’ve competed on. We were sliding at ninety degrees to the road but thankfully there were some well placed banks we could bounce off to keep ourselves on the road.”

On the fourth stage, the Honda set the fastest time, beating the entire Bosch ARC field by three seconds. “The stage was still wet, but I could see it had a lot more rock in the surface and had more grip, so I decided to have a charge and caught the other boys napping. I’ve been trying for almost two years to beat those four-wheel drive turbo cars on gravel and I’m happy to have ticked that box,” Evans said.

Day Two was held on stages south of Coffs Harbour that were not affected by the rain. The first loop of stages was challenging, with higher than expected tyre wear. The Civic Type R broke a driveshaft over a rough section of road.

“Thankfully the shaft broke with only a few kilometres of stage left, so we were able to get through to the end of the section and then cruise back to service and let the boys replace it. I was really surprised to see the Honda was still drivable with only one-wheel drive,” Evans said.

Evans and Weston held their position throughout the remainder of the stages, ensuring they were third outright to take home another podium.

“I’m so happy for the team that we could get another podium finish and also win the 2011 Australian Rally Manufacturer’s Championship for Honda Australia. It’s a great reward for supporting our team and the championship this year.

“It’s a really good omen that we now have such good pace and I can’t wait until the championship goes two-wheel drive next year. I reckon I’ve now done my front-wheel drive apprenticeship and I’m ready to start winning,” Evans said.

Evans’ stage times were so strong, if he’d been competing in the WRC field he would have found himself in 12th outright and over fifteen minutes ahead of the next two-wheel drive competitor.

The final round of the Bosch ARC takes place in Warragul, Victoria on November 12 and 13.