Thirty-eight years is a very long time, but it brought back wonderful memories for the Stokes family last weekend.
As siblings Robbie and Amy Stokes crossed the finish line of the Lawrence Rally, they secured the Mainland Rally Series in their Ford Fiesta AP4.
Their father, Brian, achieved the same feat way back in 1983, 38 years earlier, and they’re the first father and son duo to win the title.
It wasn’t all plain sailing for the Stokes’ though.
The rally was not pacenoted and he overshot a junction in the first stage and made very heavy contact with an earth bank. The car was thrown on to its side and would have rolled had it not been for the angle of the bank.
He had another overshoot on the next stage and dropped to a minute behind the leaders.
Fastest time on two of the final three stages saw him recover well to finish in third place and secure the championship.
The rally was won by Andrew Graves in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3, 16.5 seconds ahead of Mike Young in a Subaru Impreza WRX.
Stokes’ consistent year saw him win the Mainland Series by 19 points from Sean Haggerty, with Mitsubishi Mirage driver Michael Tall in third place, a further 20 points in arrears.
Aussie title reaches its climax
With restrictions easing, the final round the Australian Rally Championship looks set to go ahead in New South Wales on December 11.
The Monaro Sprint will be based in Bombala, which is well south of Canberra and near the Victorian border – pretty much in the middle of nowhere.
However, the rally was already calendared as a round of the NSW state series, so the ARC has commandeered the event as their final championship round.
Brothers Harry and Lewis Bates sit first and second in their Toyota Yaris AP4s, but with a 55 point lead, only disaster can stop the older Bates taking his second title.
Sitting in third place, and leading the Production Cup, is Arron Windus in a privately entered Subaru Impreza WRX, while the 2WD category is headed by Ryan Williams in a Ford Fiesta Rally2.
The final rally of the year will be held over eight stages with a competitive distance of 153 kilometres.
WRC lifeline for M-Sport ‘Reject’
Not very long ago, Teemu Suninen took his rally career into his own hands when he severed ties with M-Sport after a miserable couple of seasons.
Now, the once highly-sought-after Finn will sit in Ott Tanak’s seat for the final qualifying round of the 2021 WRC.
Tanak has withdrawn from the Monza Rally, citing personal family matters, and with Suninen having impressed on his debut in Hyundai’s Rally2 car, he’s landed the prized drive.
At this stage, it appears that Suninen’s drive will be a one-off as he is expected to drive a Rally2 car for the team next season, but if he sets the world on fire, who knows?
Hyundai will be hoping to finish an up and down season with a victory, with both the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ titles heading to arch-rivals Toyota.
The battle for the Drivers’ championship has again gone down to the wire, with Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans the only men in the running.
The Monza Rally will be held from November 19 to 21.
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