Wilsons capitalise on Brinkman heartbreak
Tuesday 18 June, 2019
Photos: CH Images
Brayden and Blake Wilson have clinched the second round of the P3 Solutions CAMS Queensland Rally Championship after a thrilling final stage in the SR Automotive Manumbar Rally.
Behind the wheel of the Mitsubishi Evo 9, the Wilsons enjoyed an intense battle with fellow Evo pilots Glen Brinkmann and Harvey Smith throughout the event as both crews traded blows and claimed stage wins.
Heading into the eighth and final stage of the event, Brinkman and Smith had the outright lead with a 30 second gap over the Wilsons after picking up their fourth stage win of the day.
However the final stage didn’t go to plan for the leaders as they endured a horror run and struggled to finish the stage, falling more than four minutes behind the winners in Ryan Smart and Hugh Reardon-Smith.
More importantly, Brinkman and Smith finished four minutes behind the Wilsons, which gave the Wilsons the outright round win thanks to their consistency and their three stage wins across the day.
After picking up a number of top three finishes along with the final stage win, Smart and Reardon-Smith ended the day in outright second, as well as claiming the 2WD win, making it an excellent outing for the Datsun Stanza pilots.
Rounding out the podium was Melinda Bergmann and Larisa Biggar after the Lancer pilots managed finish inside the top five in all bar one stage making it a solid start to the season for the all-female crew.
The Wilson’s result put the 2018 QRC Junior Champions in a commanding spot in the outright standings after the pair picked up a runner-up finish in last month’s Rally Whitsundays.
The winners of the QRC’s season opener ended the event one place behind Bergmann and Biggar with Marius Swart and Alan Stean steering their VW Polo S2000 to fourth outright.
In the Clubman competition, Dominic Corkeron and Dennis Neagle claimed a comfortable two minute victory over Rhys Simmons and Mick Baker in the Hyundai Excel and Brendan Mole and Simon Teed, while Michelle Van de Wilk and Kevin O’Connor ended the rally as Novice class winners.
The next round of the P3 Solutions CAMS Queensland Rally Championship will be the Working Dog Rally Conalbo on 20 July.