The winning Mitsubishi Evo of Steve Jones and Caleb Ash.
Camera IconThe winning Mitsubishi Evo of Steve Jones and Caleb Ash. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Jones cruises to 4th win

Staff ReporterMidland Kalamunda Reporter

His victories ” twice as many as any other driver ” have come from just five appearances in WA’s premier tarmac rally.

Jones’ first victory came in 2008, making him the youngest driver to win the classic. His other two wins were in 2011 and 2012.

The driver teamed up with Caleb Ash in a Mitsubishi Evo 8 MR and had the 2014 event all but sown up going into the final day.

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Jones said the Evo has always been his favourite car.

‘It is a great rally car and I just love driving it,’ he said.

‘It took me a little while to get back into the swing of competing and on the first day we spent a bit of time in the gravel. But Cashy (his co-driver Caleb Ash) got me back on track and we got better as the rally progressed.’

In one of the most intriguing contests in the 10-year history of the Targa Rally, six teams were still in contention to take out the main prize midway through the event.

But by lunch time on day three it was down to three and by the end Jones had put enough of a gap between him and last year’s winners Peter Major and Greg Flood to be able to take a more cautious approach on the final day.

Twelve months after watching their wives stand on the podium, Simon Gunson and Jurgen Lunsmann had their moment of glory when they won the Competition Classic category.

Driving a 1971 Ford Capri Perana V8, the pair had a trouble-free rally, taking the lead in the first stage at Whiteman Park on Thursday and never headed.

Gunson and Lunsmann finished ahead of last year’s winners Mark Dobson and Greg Butcher, who had to nurse their Triumph TR 7 V8 through the rally after damaging the gearbox on the first day.

In the Challenge Modern category, Razvan Vlad and Daymon Nicoli made amends for their disappointment last year, when they lost the lead on the last day, with a solid all-the-way victory.