Teams and Drivers have begun to assemble in the Adelaide Hills for Round 3 of the Australian Rally Championship, 2011 Scouts Rally South Australia to be held this weekend in the famous wine making area of the Barossa Valley and fabled dirt roads of the Adelaide Hills.
With several key technical changes for 2011 to increase the excitement and understanding for the spectators including the "unrestricting" of turbos which has seen some of the leading cars producing in excess of 400bhp and some massively faster speeds up to 230km/h within stages which are testing both for the driver but also crews who have experienced a number of failures due to this extra power this year.
After 2 rounds the championship is lead by Queenslander Ryan Smart in his Toyota Corolla which being not as powerful as the leading Evos of Pedder and Dowel has been consistent to notch up consistent points finishes in the first two rounds of the championship.
“I know this rally is fast, so with our ‘less-restricted’ Corolla we’ll have to keep an eye in the rear-view mirror for Mark Pedder.” Smart said today at the test stage.
“The key to this rally will be consistency and tyre choice. We tested a few tyres today and found the Kuhmo 800’s worked really well, especially in the sunshine we had today. I reckon the Corolla will do 0-100 in 3.1 seconds now especially with our Elf fuel” Ryan laughed.
This weekend Smart Motorsport are joined by a new partner and fuel supplier with Elf Racing Fuel, joining other sponsors V-Sport Australia, Ferodo Brake Pads, Speedie Contractors and Yandina Automotive.
“We’ve got new Sabelt racing suits from our sponsor V-Sport Australia for this weekend, they feel and look awesome. It’s great to have a suit that fits me properly and looks professional coming into this round” Ryan Said.
“I guess there is a lot of hype going around coming into this round, and after talking to Simon Evans through the week. I’m just going to keep it real and drive my own event, there’s still a long way to the podium at Rally Victoria.”
Second in the championship coming into Rally SA is Mark Pedder in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX and is hoping that with the longer, smoother stages that Rally SA offers that the unrestricted, high horsepower machine will come into its own.
“I am confident that we will be more than a match for Ryan and John this weekend." said Pedder
"We had a great real world test at an event in Perth during the break after Queensland and I reckon we have the car and team to win here."
"Ryan is certainly driving very well and his confidence is up, this is the halfway mark of the championship and we need to make some inroads here giving us a chance to capitalise at Rally Australia in September. We have made some changes to the car to suit the unique conditions in South Australia.” Said Pedder.
It was this event last year which saw the end of brother Scott’s rally career following a horrific accident in the Cromer stage and Mark says it would be “bittersweet” to take the top step of the podium this year.
“Rally SA was Scott’s first national rally win in 2005 and it would be great to repeat that feat this year....however I think I will avoid any advice he has regarding the best way to drive through the Cromer stage!” joked Pedder.
Pedder rates the fast and flowing South Australian roads as the best in Australia.
“There is no doubt that these are the best roads in the country – super fast and rewarding. The Scouts Rally SA team lead by Ivar Stanelis also do a fantastic job and run a top-notch event....I cant wait to do the Woodhouse stage in front of thousands of fans.”
Rally SA is also a round of the SA Rally Championship and with two rounds run already with defending state champion Russell Marker is leading the championship from young guns James Rodda and Daniel Day in 2nd and 3rd places respectively.
Former SA Rally Champion Matt Selley will be hoping for a better run than last year after crashing heavily on Saturday's running.
Scouts Rally SA starts on Saturday Morning with the mammoth 32 km Tweeden Stage and concludes with the same stage on Sunday Afternoon.
For spectators, the best view can be had at the new Woodhouse Special Stage with commentary and full food and drink facilities on site as well as constant commentary from local experts. Full details at http://www.rallysa.com.au
 [copyright-free photo by Phil Willams - www.freewebs.comphilwillmedia]nsp_119.JPG)
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