The 2024 Bosch Motorsport Australia Rally Championship (ARC) is heating up after day one of the Adelaide Hills Rally as this year’s contenders battle it out in the penultimate round of the year.
 
Lewis Bates and Anthony Mcloughlin ended the day on top of the standings, more than seven seconds ahead of teammates Harry Bates and Coral Taylor after trading places across the opening day’s eight stages through the shire roads.
 
View the day’s standings at the Subaru Results Hub.


 
Scott Pedder and Glenn Macneall arrived in the Adelaide Hills with a point to prove ahead of the fifth round of Championship, the pair making an emphatic start to the day as the Toyota Gazoo Racing crews struggled to find the pace.
 
Following up an unfortunate finish to their Middle of Everywhere Gippsland Rally, the Pedders Suspension & Brakes duo made an early statement on Saturday – winning the opening two stages of the rally.
 
Finishing SS1 more than five seconds quicker than Eddie Maguire and Zak Brakey, and notably seven seconds faster than Championship leaders Harry Bates and Coral Taylor, it became Pedder’s day for the taking.
 
Pedder was locked in a fierce battle with Lewis Bates and for the remainder of the morning, who went on to win the next two stages and claim first outright position ahead of the midday service.
 
Bates and Mcloughlin dominated the afternoon’s stages thereafter, claiming four of the eight stage wins in their Toyota GR Yaris – before his brother was able to get one back on him in the sixth stage.
 
“To be honest with you, it’s been a really good feeling from stage three today onwards and we felt at one with everything - It’s been a really good day,” Bates said.
 
“It’s been an amazing day. We had a really good run in there to be honest with you and it’s a nice way to finish off the day.
 
“I have to thank the team; we’ve had to work hard on this car in the last two days. We’ve had a few niggly issues and from Stage 3 onwards today it’s been absolutely perfect.”


 
The battle for the cups was wide open heading into the weekend’s proceedings.
 
With Molly Taylor and Andy Sarandis having completed their required four rounds, Bodie Reading and Mark Young wasted no time in claiming valuable Mainfix Production Cup points – winning every stage to finish the day ahead of Joshua Wiedman and Nick Reid.
 
Jaidyn Gluskie and Lucy Gluskie impressed in the Junior ARC Cup, finishing ahead of standings leaders and Middle of Everywhere Gippsland Rally Cup winners, Mitch Garrad and Taylah Murphy.
 
Peter Dimmock and Paul Bennet finished the fastest of the Trenching Systems Australia 2WD Classic ARC Cup entrants, while Timothy Hiles and Morgan Ward took out the day one honours in the Subaru WRX Challenge.
 
Sunday’s action includes another eight stages in South Australia’s Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Peninsula regions, with the first stage of the day getting underway just before 8am.
 
Full results, highlights and updates are available on rally.com.au.