Brendan battles home for Rally Australia finish

Brendan and Rhianon have finished Rally Australia in 17th place outright, and seventh in the Production World Rally Championship category, after mechanical problems again hindered their charge up the leader board.

Brendan started the day cautiously, admitting that it took him a while to get into a good rhythm, but by the lunch time service he had set some good stage times and was clawing back the places he lost on Saturday when a fuel pump problem forced his early retirement.

An exhaust leak which caused the rubber joints around the steering rack to burn, slowed Brendan's charge on the afternoon's final three stages, but he and Rhianon battled on, bringing their Subaru WRX home in 17th place.

"It was quite a tough morning. In the first stage we probably didn't attack hard enough and we were a little bit off the pace," Reeves admitted. "In the second stage today, the time didn't feel so good but it was actually better than I expected. The Subaru was crazy to drive, there are so many different conditions; the first part of the stage was very sandy and my Impreza was always sideways, while the last part is fast and downhill so the brakes were getting really hot."

"The plan for the afternoon was to have a smooth run though the long stages and then go flat out in the last stage of the rally to try and set a good time. Unfortunately, that wasn't to be. We had hoped for a podium place here at Rally Australia, but that's rallying!"