With entries for next month's Pedders Eureka Rush Rally now open, cams.com.au has a look at the remaining states in the two-part midway review segment.
Click here to read the first part.
Dunlop – Motul CAMS Tasmanian Rally Championship
Round 1 - Kennedy's Welding Supplies Southern Safari: Tim Auty and Jon Mitchell
Round 2: Cancelled
Round 3 - Subaru Rally Tasmania: Tim Auty and Jon Mitchell
The Dunlop – Motul CAMS Tasmanian Rally Championship has seen only two events and so far the season belongs to Timothy Auty and Jon Mitchell.
Behind the wheel of their trendy Mazda 323 GTR, the pair’s form in 2019 has been irresistible, as they have had two sensational wins, for different reasons.
The duo dominated the season opener in March to claim all 10 stages and take out the win with a gap of more than five minutes over Peter Nunn and Keith Johnstone.
On the national stage in Launceston, Auty and Mitchell again took top honours but only just, as the heat one winners finished only two points ahead of Kurt Wylie and Damien Roach who placed second in both heats.
Reigning champion Bodie Reading’s first hit out for the year started poorly with the youngster failing to finish the first heat. However on the second day of action, he put on a master class alongside Mark Young to take out the heat win and secure a top five finish.
With only two rounds remaining for the season, Auty and Mitchell are in a very nice spot to take out the 2019 title, with Danny Traverso the closest to hunt them down after picking up two top-five finishes.
The run home:
Round 4 - Rocky Cape Sprint: 31 August
Round 5 - Mountain Stages Rally: 19 October
CAMS WA Rally Championship
Round 1 - Make Smoking History Forest Rally: John O’ Dowd and Toni Feaver
Round 2 - Trade Hire Karri Rally: John O’ Dowd and Toni Feaver
Round 3 - Better Value Tyres Safari Rally: John O’Dowd and Toni Feaver
Round 4 - Wheels on Yirrigan Kumho Tyre Kirup Stages Rally: John O’ Dowd and Toni Feaver
In their Skoda Fabia R5, John O’ Dowd and Toni Feaver have dominated the championship in 2019 and are on track for a perfect year with just two rounds left in the year.
On the timing sheets the duo have been in impeccable form all year, winning the majority of stages in each event having dropped their only championship points in the first heat of the first round.
From then on, it’s been smoothing sailing with the Skoda duo winning every stage in the next three rallies except for two.
The battle for second is a lot closer with Ben Searcy and James Marquet in the box seat to be the best of the rest, while Craig Rando and Stephen Oxley, one of the only two to steal a stage off O’ Dowd, are also a chance to also sneak into second place.
The run home:
Round 4 - Darling 200: 15 September
Round 5 - Make Smoking History Experts Cup 2019: 26 October
MRF Tyres CAMS South Australian Rally Championship
Round 1 - South West Stages : Aaron Bowering and Heath Weedon
Round 2 - Copyworld Walky 100 Rally: Zayne Admiraal and Mathew Heywood
It’s a short and sweet year in South Australia with only one round remaining in the three-round 2019 season and with two separate crews each grabbing a round victory, it’s going to be an entertaining finale.
On paper, Zayne Admiraal and Mathew Heywood are looking good of claiming the championship with a round win and runner-up placing next to their names, while round one winners Aaron Bowering and Heath Weedon had a weekend to forget in June.
Bowering and Weedon started well at the Walky 100, enjoying the battle with Admiraal and Heywood until they faltered in the final stages to drop down the field into 15th, leaving it all to do in the final round.
Jamie Pohlner and Ken Moor have been solid so far with two podium places putting them in contention for a title, but they will need to find a way to win on the national stage at the CAMS Australian Rally Championship’s Adelaide Hills Rally – a round where Admiraal broke into the top five outright last year.
The run home:
Round 3: Adelaide Hills Rally: 19 -21 September