Declan Dwyer and co-driver Zoe Dwyer have left the 2023 Copyworld Walky 100 with an impressive victory, beating winners beating a solid of field of 27 crews, including reigning Motorsport Australia South Australian Rally Championship (SARC) champion Jamie Pohlner.
 
The event, which marked round two of this year’s SARC delivered a shocking turn of events, after Pohlner and co-driver Adam Banford suffered their first SARC loss since round three of last year.
 
Pohlner, who would have entered the event full of confidence after winning the past two Walky 100 events, was leading the rally for much of the day before a tragic DNF on the 10th stage saw him unable to start the last two stages.
 
This incident came after a characteristic series of stage wins across the day, with Pohlner jumping from second to first place after the first stage and holding onto this lead until stage nine.
 
However, with Dwyer maintaining an unwavering second place right behind Polhner for much of the event, the DNF elevated Dwyer to the lead as finally replaced Pohlner at the top of the podium.

 
The win was a result of a highly consistent performance from Dwyer, who finished in the top three in nine stages, including two wins.
 
Also achieving their fair share of top three finishes were eventual runner-up place getters Carwyn and Carli Harries, who redeemed themselves after a tragic retirement at the 2022 edition of the event.
 
Harries finished in the top three in seven of the day’s 11 stages, including second in stage 10 before picking up the win on the final, where he finished four seconds faster than Dwyer.
 
Rounding out the podium was Darren Herring, who also surpassed his fifth-place finish of last year to take out a win on stage 10 and two other top three finishes.


Round one runner up David McDonough and co-driver Steven Hiser were also able to improve on last year’s performance in the Walky 100 to finish in fourth overall – their best result being a win on the opening stage.
 
Meanwhile, Molly Spalding, who finished third in last year’s championship, also delivered a noteworthy performance with the assistance of co-driver Guy Tyler, achieving a brilliant third place in stage 11 to round out the podium.
 
View the full results here.
  
The next round of the Motorsport Australia South Australian Rally Championship will be the MSS Safety Rally Barossa, which will be held in the picturesque Barossa Valley on 16-17 September.