Steven Shepheard is looking to break into the top five in the Australian Rally Championship standings at the Coffs Coast Rally next weekend, with the GSA Wholesale Suspension Rally Team primed for a return to rallying on the East Coast of Australia.
After the opening two rounds of the championship in Tasmania and in Western Australia, Shepheard and co-driver John McCarthy are currently sitting in sixth position in the standings, however the roads around Coffs Harbour present their own challenges for the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10 crew.
"We're a little bit behind the eight-ball when it comes to the Coffs Coast Rally, we've never competed on these particular roads before, so we don't have any baseline pace notes to work from," Shepheard said.
"It's really important that we write some excellent notes through recce, but other than that, we're confident of a top showing.
"We're continuing to learn more and more about the car, and the roads should suit us well.
"It's typical Australian forestry, with a fair few shire roads, it's not as flowing as some, but it's still very enjoyable."
The last outing for the GSA Wholesale Suspension Rally Team was at the Quit Forest Rally in Western Australia, with the crew having an up and down event.
"We started out really well, we were running in fourth outright, and we were as quick as we had ever been," Shepheard said.
"Unfortunately we had a tyre come off the rim, so we had to stop and change it mid-stage, and after that we were playing catch up throughout."
A minor issue with the intercooler water spray had major implications when it robbed the car of horsepower, a problem that proved hard to rectify in the service.
However, when all was well with the package, top-five stage times were easily obtained, with the competition sitting up and taking notice.
Shepheard adapted his driving style to suit the new gearbox aboard the Lancer, and post rally inspections showed that the changes had been successful.
The weekend netted heat results of eighth and 13th for tenth overall.
The GSA Wholesale Suspension Rally Team would like to thank OZ Tec Suspension, King Springs, Accord Body Works, CES Racing Systems, Albins Off Road Gear and Mitsubishi Ralliart for their continued support in season 2010.
For more information on GSA Wholesale Suspension Rally Team is available on their new website, gsarallyteam.com.
