Lewis Bates wins Adelaide Hills Rally to extend ARC championship lead
Speedcafe reported Toyota GAZOO Racing's Lewis Bates and Anthony McLoughlin took overall victory at the Adelaide Hills Rally, extending their championship lead to 41 points, as Harry Bates and Coral Taylor closed to within 80 points heading into the Gippsland finale.
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Bates brothers share heats as Lewis takes outright win
Lewis Bates and Anthony McLoughlin won the Adelaide Hills Rally outright after taking victory in Heat 1, Speedcafe reported. Harry Bates and Coral Taylor won Heat 2, with Harry beating his brother by 19.9 seconds after winning seven of the nine stages and securing a Toyota GAZOO Racing Australia 1-2. 2
Speedcafe reported Lewis as saying he was 'super stoked to win the event', describing it as really challenging from Friday night when rain arrived for the second pass of the super special. 'I don't know if I've ever driven in such slippery conditions, and then the rain throughout the whole event made it really challenging. We did it from car one on the road as well,' he said, adding that the battle between Harry, Scott and his own crew had been intense all day, according to Speedcafe. 2
The combination of Lewis's Heat 1 win and Heat 2 runner-up finish kept him and McLoughlin in the championship lead, extending the gap to Pedder and Macneall to 41 points, Speedcafe reported. Harry's third place in Heat 1 sealed second outright, bringing he and Taylor back into the title fight and closing their gap to within 80 points of the leaders heading to the final round. 2
Pedder crash, class honours and the finale ahead
Sunday began badly for championship challengers Pedder and Macneall. Speedcafe reported their Skoda hit a post and fell down an embankment just 300 metres into the first stage, breaking a steering arm and taking them out of contention. The pair had the car repaired after the first service break and finished eighth, banking enough points to stay within reach of the championship lead, according to Speedcafe. 2
The second Pedders Rally Team entry of Jackson Long and his father Damian rounded out the top three in Heat 2 and outright, in what Speedcafe described as the duo's strongest day of competition this season, with Long posting second-fastest times in two Sunday stages. Josh Redhead and Ray Winwood-Smith finished fourth outright and claimed the Wolf Sports Cup honours, ARC Classic class winners Bradley Clements and Naomi Povey rounded out the top five in sixth outright, and Glenn and Bec Campbell marked their ARC return with a 2WD Cup win, Speedcafe reported. 2
Going into the round, Speedcafe's preview had noted Lewis Bates and McLoughlin led the standings after their outright victory in Tasmania, with Pedder and Macneall 12 points adrift and Harry Bates and Taylor third, 58 points back, after a crash removed them from contention on the Saturday night. The EROAD Australian Rally Championship now heads to its season finale in Victoria, with the Gippsland Rally running November 20-22, Speedcafe reported. 12
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