KALAMUNDA rally driver Brad Markovic and Busselton’s Tom Wilde will head to the International Rally of Queensland this weekend.
The Maximum Motorsport drivers are competing in round three of the 2016 KumhoTyre Australian Rally Championship on the Sunshine Coast and may need stamina and resilience to stir things up.
Regarded as one of the most challenging rounds on the calendar, it is also an endurance event for championship points, which means competitors need to finish both heats to claim points.
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READ NOWWilde, who is the highest placed WA driver on the championship leader board and fourth overall, said he was hoping to have an incident-free run in his Subaru WRX STI, much like he did at the National Capital Rally in Canberra recently.
The 28-year-old was able to avoid much of the drama that plagued other competitors and came away with the equal highest amount of points of the registered ARC drivers.
“If the National Capital Rally had have been an endurance round as well, we would have finished third and claimed the highest points overall for the round,” he said.
Wilde has competed at Queensland rally three times before.
“This is a tricky event to get your head around but I know the roads quite well now,” he said.
“They are very fast and reward commitment.”
Markovic will have a new co-driver while Glenn Macneall competes in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship section of the event with India’s Gaurav Gill.
“Scott Beckwith is going to step in for this round,” Markovic said.
“He’s very experienced in both Australia and overseas and I’m looking forward to competing with him.”
For Markovic, the Queensland rally represents the chance to make amends for a tough start to the 2016 championship season.
In round one, the Quit Forest Rally, his Subaru WRX STI was destroyed in a freak fire and, in round two, his newly-build WRX STI hatch suffered suspension problems.
“Maximum Motorsport has been working on the new car and trying to get it as close to the specifications of the previous one,” he said.
“We’ve had an amazing amount of support all year and we’re looking forward to getting back out there and claiming some points in Queensland.”
The Queensland rally starts on Friday and finishes on Sunday afternoon.