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Caltex Drivers Set ToO Attack In Rally Opener |
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Friday, 30 March 2007 |
Defending champion Simon Evans and Toyota team-mate Neal Bates begin their campaign in the 2007 NEC Australian Rally Championship aboard their Caltex-backed Toyota Corollas at the Coates Rally Queensland on the Sunshine Coast this weekend.
Evans, who will again be joined in the co-driver seat by wife Sue, will contest the event in the same car which carried him to much success last year, the Group N(P) Corolla Sportivo. Bates’ and long-time co-driver Coral Taylor meanwhile will debut the current-shape Corolla S2000 development car.
This year’s opening round of the championship has moved to the white
sands and turquoise waters of the Sunshine Coast, and a new base at
Marcoola.
The event will begin with a Super Special Stage at Nambour Showground, where fans can get up close to the action.
From there, drivers and teams head to the service park at Imbil where
the drivers will wind their way through the forests of the Sunshine
Coast Hinterland.
Evans has always been quick on the Queensland roads and will be out to
start his title defence with back-to-back victories on the Sunshine
Coast.
"It would have been great to start the year in an S2000 Corolla, but
then again it is also nice to begin a title defence in the car in which
I won the championship,” said Evans.
“It took a long time for me to become the Australian Rally Champion,
and I have no intention of not being the champion again this year - but
it's going to be a tough year.
"I've always been quick on the Queensland roads, although last year was
the first time I had been able to really put a good result together -
and we won with a leaking gearbox. The roads are really fast, but also
very technical and reward brave and precise driving."
Bates is entering the opening round with a cautious approach with the
aim of gaining valuable information about the new Caltex-backed Toyota
S2000 Corolla.
"The first event in Queensland is going to be very interesting. No-one
knows just how fast the S2000 cars of Toyota and Ford will be. We think
the Corolla is at least as fast as our Group N(P) from the testing
we've done, but we won't truly know until we get it out there. Running
the two cars side by side over the first two rounds should give us a
good understanding,” said Bates.
"I don't have any idea how fast the Fords will be, or exactly how many
top Subarus and Mitsubishis will be running, so it is a little
difficult to gauge. I'm looking forward to it, though, because the
S2000 car is a really enjoyable thing to throw through the forest."
The Coates Rally Queensland will begin on in the Sunshine Coast, Queensland this weekend from 31 March to 1 April.
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