July 6^th, 2003

Ordynski takes out Premier State Rally

MITSUBISHI’S Ed Ordynski made his rivals see red in the third round of the Australian Rally Championship, the Premier State Rally, today when he blitzed the field with a fast and furious display in the forests near Wyong.

Ordynski was determined to take victory at the Sydney Rally and in doing so, continue a tradition that started when he took the win at the original Coffs Harbour Rally and the inaugural Sydney rally two years ago.

“This is the first drivers championship win for us since this time last year. The team’s worked very hard for it here,” said Ordynski.

“It’s fair to say that the competition was really against Simon Evans today. It’s been hard but it’s a friendly rivalry.  He left messages for me with the officials during the event saying things like “we’re going really slow, we’ve had a spin” so that we’d get the impression he wasn’t driving fast. It was very funny.

“I’ve enjoyed it. We’re very pleased about our win but also for Mitsubishi who have taken victory in the manufacturer stakes today.”

He and co-driver Iain Stewart had their work cut out to keep Evans at bay on the tricky gravel roads and was going as hard as he could to take victory.

Evans was laid back as he attacked Ordynski’s lead but on the fast horsepower stages he didn’t quite have the speed to make up the gap. He still took privateer honours by following factory-driver Ordynski to the line.

For Evans it was a bittersweet result. He was pleased to have notched second position on the podium but mindful that a 50 second penalty copped during the first day’s stages had taken away a potential win.

“It’s a good feeling to get on the podium after yesterday’s effort,” said Evas.

“I didn’t think I’d get to second outright and if you look at the times, we won the event on the road - it was only penalties that held us back from the win. I feel pretty good about what we’ve done and what we’ve achieved this weekend it. I’m pretty proud of it.”

Third place was championship newcomer Finnish driver Juha Kangas who, despite having trouble with converting his english pace notes to outright speed, was flying over the rocky forest stages.

Kangas, who has World Rally experience under his belt, was surprised by his podium spot and in typical Finnish style was quietly delighted to beat a host of factory teams at their own game on the fast roads.

“It’s nice to finish third. Our first podium for the championship is a nice feeling. There were some bad times and some good times and I think we can do it again but somehow we need more speed. I need to work out if it is the car, if it’s more learning for me, or just more time with pace notes,” Kangas said.

For the championship, it meant three new colours on the podium and a dent in the championship lead held by Subaru’s Cody Crocker who, despite winning heat one, finished fourth for the weekend after losing drive to the rear wheels and a heap of time early on the second day.

Crocker has won every rally so far this year and was philosophical about not being top of the tree. He kept his eye firmly on protecting his championship position and drove with just enough pace to make sure he stayed on the road and in the running for points.

“The lead’s been slashed a touch, but it’s no big issue. We would have to have done something fairly tragically wrong to lose our lead in the championship. You can’t be unhappy with our result, one win and points in the second heat, we’re looking to the next rally now,” Crocker said of his championship position.

Crocker still holds the lead on 106 points, but Ordynski moved one step closer, leap-frogging Evans into second on 74 with Evans now just three points behind the Mitsubishi driver.

Subaru’s Dean Herridge got a bit hot under the bonnet near the end of the rally when his car caught on fire in one of the stages. Herridge kept a cool head but it wasn’t enough to get him to the finish and he retired with enough points for eighth.

Mitsubishi’s Spencer Lowndes finished equal fifth with Sydney driver Mark Thompson for the weekend and was happier with the pace of the Mitsubishi on the faster roads today. He and Thompson were battling for fourth position today and it was a stunning battle between the young drivers.

Toyota’s Neal Bates resurrected a strong result in the event after a DNF yesterday and put on a strong battle to claim equal eighth overall. While it wasn’t what the Toyota Team had planned Bates pushed on to score the best result for the team after the sister car driven by his twin brother Rick Bates failed to finish with mechanical problems in heat one.

“Today we had no problems which is a huge plus, we had to just try and get a result and hang in there. The pace obviously isn’t quick enough. There’s no relaxing, you’ve got to keep the pedal to the metal and just get it to the finish for as many points as possible,” said Neal Bates.

The tough, rocky roads took their toll on competitors and some of the usual suspects lucked out of the event, before their rally got started. Cars jumped and bucked as the conditions got rougher and it was obvious from the carnage on the roads.

Mitsubishi’s Scott Pedder set blinding stage times this morning but found the same misfortune. He was in the running for a podium and in second position outright, but his rally ended with clutch failure.

Sitting on the side of the road, Pedder and co-driver Paul Humm could do nothing but watch their rivals drive to the end of the rally. It was a frustrating finish for Pedder who has been at the pointy end all year but has yet to grab a win.

Local driver John Mitchell stretched his legs on his home roads and got faster throughout the day. Without much recent rally experience, Mitchell took a while to get up to speed but after settling in, claimed an impressive 7^th outright today and 10^th for the weekend.

NSW driver Craig Neale also delivered a notable 9^th position and says he too just settled into the event to ensure he came through with a strong finish. Fellow NSW driver Brad Goldsborough finished in tenth today, overcoming a major lose on the same corner that claimed Neal Bates in yesterday’s heat.

In the F16 Championship, young WA driver Chris Anderson took the win over youngest competitor in the field Ian Plenderleith. Anderson has proved to be a force in the championship and will continue to make an impact on the small car category as the season progresses.

The stunning showdown in the forest sets the scene for a close battle in the wine regions of Adelaide’s Barossa Valley at the next round in August. Local South Australian and today’s winner Ed Ordynski hopes to carry on the winning streak when the championship continues on August 8.