2015 Australian Rally Championship Explained

The 2015 East Coast Bullbars Australian Rally Championship is the 48th season of the Australian Rally Championship. The season began on 27 March at the Quit Forest Rally in Nannup, Western Australia and will end at the Scouts Rally in South Australia. The championship consists of five events including the two international events of Rally Australia and the International Rally of Queensland. The championship is divided into outright (2WD), 4WD Rally Series and Classic Rally Challenge classes. 2014 champion Scott Pedder will not be returning to defend his title after entering into the WRC-2 Championship.^[1]

Calendar

The calendar has changed slightly from the 2014 season.^[2]

	Dates	Rally name
1	27–29 March		Nannup, Western Australia
2	15–17 May	National Capital Rally	Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
3	19–21 June	International Rally of Queensland	Sunshine Coast, Queensland
4	10–13 September	Rally Australia	Coffs Harbour, New South Wales
5	23–25 October	Scouts Rally SA	Barossa Valley, South Australia

Teams and drivers

Outright ARC Teams

Teams and drivers competing in the outright (2WD) ARC championship^[3] ^[4]

Team	Driver	Co-driver	Class	Rounds
Team Citroen Australia	Eli Evans	Glen Weston	R3	1–3
Tankformers	Simon Evans	Ben Searcy	G2	1
Tankformers	Simon Evans	Ben Searcy	G2	2–3
Opti-Coat Rally Team	Steven Mackenzie	Brett Mackenzie	G2	1–3
Innate Motorsport	Adrian Coppin	Erin Kelly	R3	1–3
Australian Truck Performance	Tony Sullens	Julia Barkley	R3	1–3
Hi-Tec Oils Australia		Bill Hayes	G2	1–3
AJE	Ashlea James	Kathryn Catford	G2	1
AJE	Ashlea James	Tim Batton	G2	2–3

4WD Rally Series Teams

Teams and drivers competing in the 4WD ARC championship

Team	Driver	Co-driver	Class	Rounds
Activ Rallysport	Justin Dowel	Matthew Lee	P5U	1
Activ Rallysport	Justin Dowel	Matthew Lee	G4	2
NOTT Racing	Henry Nott	Daniel Young	P5U	1
Pedders Suspension Rally Team	Mark Pedder	Dale Moscatt	S2000	1
Pedders Suspension Rally Team	Mark Pedder	Dale Moscatt	AP4	2–3
DK Earthworks	Dylan King	Lee Tierey	P5U	1
S Technic	Doug Tostevin	Tamara Adams	P5U	1
Platinum Automotive	Robert Webber	Toni Feaver	P5U	1
Maximum Motorsport	Brad Markovic	Glenn Macneall	P5U	1
Repco Rally Team	Mick Patton	Bernie Webb	P5U	1–3
Maximum Motorsport	John O'Dowd	Philip Conneely	P5U	1
S Technic	Scott Mackenzie	Troy Maclean	P6U	1
Shamrock Motorsport	Richie Dalton	John Allen	P5U	2
Marcus Walkem	Marcus Walkem	Scott Walkem	P5U	2
BP Ultimate Racing	Michael Bailey	Matt Harriott	P5	2–3
Fibertech Medical Australia P/L	Gerald Schofield	Ellie Yates	P5U	2
Fibertech Medical Australia P/L	Gerald Schofield	Catriona Kelly	P5U	3
Kosciusko Automotive	Andrew Penny	Jeffery Mathes	P5U	2
Justin Hatton	Justin Hatton	Tim Joas	P5U	2
777 Rallysport	Guy Tyler	Steve Fisher	P6U	2
Alliance Motorsport	Peter Dunn	Drew Smythe	P6	2
iLAB Australia		James Wilson	P5	3

Classic Rally Challenge Teams

Teams and drivers competing in the Classic ARC championship

Team	Driver	Co-driver	Class	Rounds
V-Sport Canberra			C1	1–2
Baden Motorsport	Clay Badenoch	Andrew Dunbar	C1	1–3
SW Motorsport	Trevor Stilling	Col Trinder	C1	1
Goodyear Autocare Fyshwick	Trevor Stilling	Catriona Kelly	C1	2
Miles Landscaping		Kathy Miles	C1	1–2
Jandal Sport	Brett Stephens	Tony Brandon	C1	2
GAME OVER	Tony Quinn	Kate Catford	C2	2–3
RallyNSW	Charlie Drake	James Thornburn	C1	2
Max Roberts	Max Roberts	New Zealand Dave Devonport	C1	2
Brian Hilton Motorsport	Josh Hilton	Rodney Vanderpool	C2	2
Triple C Motorsport	Chris Harbeck		C1	3

Rally summaries

Round 1 — Quit Forest Rally

Heat results^[5] ^[6]

Heat	Podium finishers				Statistics
Heat		Drivers	Team	Time	Stages	Length
1	align=center	1	Molly Taylor Bill Hayes	Australia Hi-Tec Oils Australia (Renault Clio R3)	align=center	1:07:54.1	10	102.02 km
align=center	2	Eli Evans Glen Weston	Australia Team Citroen Australia (Citroen DS3 R3T)	align=center	1:08:09.6
align=center	3	Simon Evans Ben Searcy	Australia Tankformers (Honda Civic Type R)	align=center	1:10:10.7

Heat	Podium finishers				Statistics
Heat		Drivers	Team	Time	Stages	Length
2	align=center	1	Eli Evans Glen Weston	Australia Team Citroen Australia (Citroen DS3 R3T)	align=center	1:11:08.8	9	113.14 km
align=center	2	Simon Evans Ben Searcy	Australia Tankformers (Honda Civic Type R)	align=center	1:11:55.5
align=center	3	Molly Taylor Bill Hayes	Australia Hi-Tec Oils Australia (Renault Clio R3)	align=center	1:12:08.8

Power Stage results^[7]

	Drivers	Team	Final time	Points
align=center	1	Simon Evans Ben Searcy	Australia Tankformers (Honda Civic Type R)	align=center	2:39.75	align=center	5
align=center	2	Tony Sullens Julia Barkley	Australia Australian Truck Performance (Citroen DS3 R3T)	align=center	2:41.00	align=center	3
align=center	3	Adrian Coppin Erin Kelly	Australia Innate Motorsport (Citroen DS3 R3T)	align=center	2:41.26	align=center	1

Former champion Eli Evans began the season with a win at Quit Forest Rally after taking second in heat one and first in heat two. Molly Taylor made history becoming the first female driver to win a heat in the Australian Rally Championship taking heat one despite having to crawl through the final two stages with damaged steering.^[8] Four time champion Simon Evans marked his return to the championship with a win in the power stage and third overall with a third and second in heat one and two respectively. Former teammates Adrian Coppin and Tony Sullens both rolled out of the lead in their Citroen DS3 R3T's in heat one before the cars were repaired for heat two.^[9]

Round 2 — National Capital Rally

Heat results^[10]

Heat	Podium finishers				Statistics
Heat		Drivers	Team	Time	Stages	Length
1	align=center	1	Tony Sullens Julia Barkley	Australia Truck Performance (Citroen DS3 R3T)	align=center	1:03:47.1	6	101.68 km
align=center	2	Molly Taylor Bill Hayes	Australia Hi-Tec Oils Australia (Renault Clio R3)	align=center	1:03:49.1
align=center	3	Adrian Coppin Erin Kelly	Australia Innate Motorsport (Citroen DS3 R3T)	align=center	1:04:08.2

Heat	Podium finishers				Statistics
Heat		Drivers	Team	Time	Stages	Length
2	align=center	1	Eli Evans Glen Weston	Australia Team Citroen Australia (Citroen DS3 R3T)	align=center	1:19:27.5	6	105.76 km
align=center	2	Molly Taylor Bill Hayes	Australia Hi-Tec Oils Australia (Renault Clio R3)	align=center	1:20:45.3
align=center	3	Harry Bates John McCarthy	Australia Neal Bates Motorsport (Toyota Corolla)	align=center	1:22:06.5

Power Stage results^[11]

	Drivers	Team	Final time	Points
align=center	1	Eli Evans Glen Weston	Australia Team Citroen Australia (Citroen DS3 R3T)	align=center	1:53.55	align=center	5
align=center	2	Simon Evans Ben Searcy	Australia Tankformers (Honda Jazz)	align=center	1:56.26	align=center	3
align=center	3	Adrian Coppin Erin Kelly	Australia Innate Motorsport (Citroen DS3 R3T)	align=center	1:57.07	align=center	1

-->

Notes:

– Harry Bates was ineligible for championship points^[12]

Results and standings

Australian Rally Championship for Drivers

Points are awarded to the top twenty classified finishers. Bonus points are awarded to the top three in Power stage and winner of the most stages.

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th	19th	20th
Points	40	34	30	26	22	20	18	16	14	12	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

	Driver															Total
	Driver	H1	H2	H1	H2	H1	H2		H1	H2	H3		H1	H2	H3	Total
1	Eli Evans	2	1 ¹	Ret ⁵	1 ¹	1	2	1 ⁶	1	1	1	1 ¹				305
2	Molly Taylor	1	3	2	2	3	4	3	3	3	2	3 ¹				274
3	Adrian Coppin	7 ¹	5	3 ¹	4	2	3	2	4	4	4	4				229
4	Steven Mackenzie	6	4	4	5	4	5	4	2	2	3	2				227
5	Ashlea James	4	7	Ret	Ret	5	6	5	5	5	5	5				142
6	Tony Sullens	5 ³	6	1	3	Ret	7	Ret ¹	6	Ret	Ret	Ret ³				138
7	Simon Evans	3 ⁵	2	5 ³	DNS	Ret	1	Ret ³	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret ⁵				122

Australian Rally Championship for Co-drivers

Points are awarded to the top twenty classified finishers. Bonus points are awarded to the top three in Power stage and winner of the most stages.

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th	19th	20th
Points	40	34	30	26	22	20	18	16	14	12	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

	Driver													Total
	Driver	H1	H2	H1	H2	H1	H2	H1	H2	H3	H1	H2	H3	Total
1	Bill Hayes	1	3	2	2									138
2	Glen Weston	2	1 ¹	Ret ⁵	1 ¹									121
3	Julia Barkley	5 ³	6	1	3									115
4	Erin Kelly	7 ¹	5	3	4									98
5	Ben Searcy	3 ⁵	2	5 ³	DNS									94
6	Brent Mackenzie	6	4	4	5									94
7	Kathryn Catford	4	7											44
	Tim Batton			Ret	Ret									0

Australian 4WD Rally Series for Drivers

Points are awarded to the top twenty classified finishers. Bonus points are awarded to the top three in Power stage and winner of the most stages. The best three events go towards final championship points.

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th	19th	20th
Points	40	34	30	26	22	20	18	16	14	12	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

	Driver													Total	Best 3
	Driver	H1	H2	H1	H2	H1	H2	H1	H2	H3	H1	H2	H3	Total	Best 3
1	Mick Patton	2	1	1	2									148	148
2	Justin Dowell	6 ³	3	2 ¹	3 ¹									119	119
3	Marcus Walkem			3 ³	1									73	73
4	Brad Markovic	1	5											62	62
5	Doug Tostevin	7 ⁵	2 ¹											58	58
6	Guy Tyler			4	4									52	52
7	Robert Webber	3	6											50	50
8	Scott McKenzie	5	4											48	48
9	Justin Hatton			5	5									44	44
10	Gerald Schofield			6	7									38	38
11	Peter Dunn			7	6									38	38
12	Mark Pedder	4	Ret	Ret	Ret									26	26
13	Andrew Penny			8	Ret									16	16
14	Michael Bailey			9										14	14
15	Richie Dalton			Ret ⁵	DNS									5	5
16	Dylan King	Ret ¹	DNS											1	1
	John O'Dowd	Ret	Ret											0	0
	Henry Nott	Ret	DNS											0	0

Australian 4WD Rally Series for Co-drivers

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th	19th	20th
Points	40	34	30	26	22	20	18	16	14	12	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

	Driver													Total	Best 3
	Driver	H1	H2	H1	H2	H1	H2	H1	H2	H3	H1	H2	H3	Total	Best 3
1	Bernie Webb	2	1	1	2									148	148
2	Matt Lee	6 ³	3	2 ¹	3 ¹									119	119
3	Scott Walkem			3 ³	1									73	73
4	Glenn Macneall	1	5											62	62
5	Tamara Adams	7 ⁵	2 ¹											58	58
6	Steve Fisher			4	4									52	52
7	Toni Feaver	3	6											50	50
8	Troy Maclean	5	4											48	48
9	Tim Joas			5	5									44	44
10	Ellie Yates			6	7									38	38
11	Nicole Bryan			7	6									38	38
12	Dale Moscatt	4	Ret	Ret	Ret									26	26
13	Jeffery Mathes			8	Ret									16	16
14	Matt Harriott			9	DNS									16	16
15	John Allen			Ret ⁵	DNS									5	5
16	Lee Tierney	Ret ¹	DNS											1	1
	Philip Conneely	Ret	Ret											0	0
	Daniel Young	Ret	DNS											0	0

Australian Classic Rally Challenge for Drivers

Points are awarded to the top twenty classified finishers. A bonus point is awarded winner of the most stages during an event. The best three events go towards final championship points.

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th	19th	20th
Points	40	34	30	26	22	20	18	16	14	12	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

	Driver													Total	Best 3
	Driver	H1	H2	H1	H2	H1	H2	H1	H2	H3	H1	H2	H3	Total	Best 3
1	Neal Bates	1	1 ¹	1	1 ¹									162	162
2	Clay Badenoch	2	2	4	2									128	128
3	Trevor Stilling	3	3	5	4									108	108
4	Graeme Miles	4	4	7	6									90	90
5	Tony Quinn			3	3									60	60
6	Max Roberts			6	5									42	42
7	Brett Stephens			2	Ret									34	34
	Josh Hilton			Ret	DNS									0	0

Australian Classic Rally Challenge for Co-drivers

Points are awarded to the top twenty classified finishers. A bonus point is awarded winner of the most stages during an event. The best three events go towards final championship points.

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th	19th	20th
Points	40	34	30	26	22	20	18	16	14	12	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

	Driver													Total	Best 3
	Driver	H1	H2	H1	H2	H1	H2	H1	H2	H3	H1	H2	H3	Total	Best 3
1	Coral Taylor	1	1 ¹	1	1 ¹									162	162
2	Andrew Dunbar	2	2	4	2									128	128
3	Kathy Miles	4	4	7	6									90	90
4	Col Trinder	3	3											60	60
5	Kate Catford			3	3									60	60
6	Catriona Kelly			5	4									48	48
7	New Zealand Dave Devonport			6	5									42	42
8	Tony Brandon			2	Ret									34	34
	Rodney Vanderpool			Ret	DNS									0	0

External links

Official website

Notes and References

Web site: Scott Pedder to take WRC2 plunge. 12 February 2015.
Web site: 2015 Season Calendar Calendar Australian Rally Championship . 2015-04-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150508041532/http://www.rally.com.au/calendar/2015-season-calendar . 2015-05-08 . dead .
http://rally.redsourcemedia.netdna-cdn.com/images/stories/2015_QFR_Entry_List_FINAL.pdf{{Dead link|date=September 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
http://rally.redsourcemedia.netdna-cdn.com/images/stories/2015_Nat_Cap_Entry_Listv4.pdf{{Dead link|date=September 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
Web site: 2015 Quit Forest Rally - ARC Stage Times Summary Heat 1 . Australian Rally Championship . 2015-03-29.
Web site: 2015 Quit Forest Rally - ARC Stage Times Summary Heat 2 . Australian Rally Championship . 2015-03-29.
Web site: 2015 Quit Forest Rally Powerstage . Australian Rally Championship.
Web site: Molly Taylor takes historic ARC heat win. 28 March 2015.
Web site: [HEAT ONE] Molly Steers Clear Of Trouble For Win ARC News Australian Rally Championship ]. 2015-04-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150411203340/http://www.rally.com.au/arc-news/heat-one-molly-steers-clear-of-trouble-for-win . 2015-04-11 . dead .
Web site: 2015 National Capital Rally - ARC Stage Times Summary Heat 1 . Australian Rally Championship . 2015-05-17.
Web site: 2015 National Capital Rally Powerstage . Australian Rally Championship.
http://rally.redsourcemedia.netdna-cdn.com/images/stories/2015_Nat_Cap_Entry_Listv4.pdf{{Dead link|date=September 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}