Multiple Australian Rally Championship-winning motorsport team Neal Bates Motorsport (NBM) has announced it will join forces with Toyota Australia for a one-off appearance at this weekends Repco Rally Australia as well launching its website just days before the highly-anticipated return to the world rally stage.Bates and long-time co-driver Coral Taylor will pilot their Neal Bates Motorsport (NBM) Toyota Corolla in the production car (PWRC) component of the event.
"Being able to contest Rally Australia in a car that this team has designed and built will be a truly special experience," Bates said.
"It is great to team up with Toyota again. Their support has allowed us to enter this round and I hope we can put on a good show for a car they played such a central role in developing.
"We are still awaiting the final rubber stamp from the FIA on homologation of the Corolla, but everything is progressing well and I expect we will be able to confirm we have received it in the very near future.
"It has been eight years since Coral and I competed in Rally Australia and we are looking forward to seeing how our Corolla S2000 compares to the best cars in the world."
Toyota motorsport manager Wayne Gabriel said the return of Rally Australia and the finalising of homologation presented the ideal opportunity to showcase the Corolla S2000 on the world stage.
"We felt the return of WRC to our shores and the impending homologation announcement was the ideal time to join with Neal and his team and help promote the Corolla S2000 to the world," Gabriel said.
"Toyota has been in partnership with Neal for 20 years and we wish him and the team all the best as they fly the flag for Australia against the world's best."
NBM will support a second Corolla S2000 entry in Rally Australia that will be piloted by local driver Stewart Reid, who will run in the invitational section of the PWRC.
NBM’s home in cyberspace can be found at www.NealBates.com.au and provides an opportunity for fans of the team to keep up to date with all the latest news, starting with the local round of the World Rally Championship (WRC).
“I hope our fans enjoy looking at the site and I urge them to keep up to date with everything from Rally Australia throughout the week,” team boss Neal Bates said.
“I saw the DVD of the roads that went out to all the competitors and I must say they look absolutely fantastic,” Bates said.
“The road surface will be similar to the rally we do in nearby Coffs Harbour. If it stays dry the roads will be hard-packed and fast, but if it rains then the roads could get extremely slippery.”
The rally will be the first for Bates’ newly-homologated Corolla S2000, which has been through the final stages of approval to allow it to compete in international events.
Rally Australia will be the 10th time Bates and Taylor have contested the local round of the WRC, and Bates thinks people will be surprised by the number of spectators that attend.
“The car is primed and ready and our goal is to be up the front in the lead bunch,” Bates said.
“A PWRC (production class) podium is certainly possible, and we are aiming for it, but the competition will be tough and it won’t be an easy task.
“WRC’s return is fantastic for rallying and it has proved so popular that the organisers had to produce more tickets. The rally will also bring a lot of investment to the area – I really think people will get a shock at how big it is going to be.”
NBM will run a short test session on Monday before Rally Australia gets underway on Thursday night with two runs on the Tweed Super Special Stage, based at Murwillumbah, south-west of Tweed Heads.
Rally Australia will be contested across 35 stages – the most of any WRC round – and includes more than 340 kilometres of competitive action.
NBM will be tackling Repco Rally Australia with support from Toyota Australia, Carsguide.com.au and the Melanoma Foundation.
