Pedders Rally Team duo Scott Pedder and Glenn Macneall have won their first EROAD Australian Rally Championship (ARC) round since 2024, securing victory at the 2026 ARC Plant Hire Forest Rally.
With victory in Saturday’s first heat, and a third place finish in Sunday’s second heat, Pedder and Macneall won the weekend with 85 points. Just five points behind were runners up Lewis Bates and Anthony McLoughlin, who led home fellow teammates Harry Bates and Coral Taylor to round out the overall podium.
Lewis Bates won his third Power Stage of the season, securing Saturday and Sunday stage wins in Western Australia, and narrowly finishing runner-up in both heats. Harry Bates made up for his Saturday misfortune, where he dropped to sixth after Saturday’s Power Stage, to win Sunday’s heat.
“It’s one of those sports where, when you think you can just cruise home and you’re looking pretty handy, something happens. We got a flat tyre on the second or third corner into the long stage, and I don’t think I’ve ever driven so fast on a flat tyre before,” Pedder said.
“We knew we probably needed to finish third or fourth today, but the car’s not sounding fantastically healthy at the moment. There are a few noises in there, so it’s going to need some work before Narooma after driving that far on a flat tyre.”
Pedder and Macneall also became the oldest pairing to win a round of the ARC, with a combined age of 102 between the pairing – demonstrating that experience and wisdom can still triumph over youth and exuberance.
“Full credit to the Maximum Motorsport team because they’ve done a lot of work. It’s also great to become the oldest Australian Rally Championship winner of all time, so that’s pretty cool.
“It’s all about maximising points and never giving up. This sport is all about strategy, and Glenn and the guys did a fantastic job today telling me how fast to go – not what to do.
Amongst a field of faster Rally2 and AP4 machinery, the fourth place of Dakar Rally legend Toby Price and Western Australian co-driver Ben Searcy were one of the standout performances aboard their Subaru WRX Challenge car. The pair also secured WOLF Cup honours over fellow WRX Challenge driver and Junior Cup winner Riley Walters, and the Subaru of Keith Hamilton.
Ronan Sharkey and John Harkin clinched Classic Cup honours aboard their Subaru WRX, and David Smith and Rodger Pederson the leading 2WD Cup runner in their Ford Fiesta.
Of the local runners, Craig Rando was the top WA driver for the weekend alongside co-driver Scott Beckwith with fifth overall aboard their Toyota Yaris AP4.
It was a weekend of attrition for some of the returnees of the ARC, with the likes of Tom Kristensson, Richie Dalton, Troy Dowel, Alex Rullo, and Peter Rullo, to name a few, encountering a mix of punctures, mechanical issues, and crashes at the front of the field.
See the full results at rally.com.au.
Next on the EROAD Australian Rally Championship tour is the all-new Toyota Gazoo Racing Narooma Forest Rally on 26–28 June in New South Wales for the third round of the championship.
