Reeves takes positives from Rally of Queensland

The Rallyschool.com.au Mazda2 of Brendan Reeves and Rhianon Smyth were pleased with the performance of their car at this weekend’s International Rally of Queensland, despite failing to finish the second day of the rally.

 

The Victorians were fourth on the ECB Australian Rally Championship points table heading into the event, and started the weekend well, finishing second on the Power Stage that started the rally on Friday night.

 

However, a driveshaft failure in each day of the rally saw them unable to complete the event.

 

Lying sixth after day one, Reeves was hopeful of a better showing in Heat 2, and pushing towards a podium finish.

 

He was third after the opening stages of the day, but was then forced to withdraw from the event after driveline problems.

 

“The day started really well and at the lunch break we were within striking distance of the leaders and in a solid third place,” Reeves said.

 

“But on the second running of the Million LA stage – possibly the roughest stage in the whole championship – our rally came to an end.

 

“It would be easy to come away from the event totally disappointed, and while we wanted a better result, there were some strong positives to come out of the weekend.

 

“The suspension and set-up changes we made to the Mazda2 heading into the event have provided us with a real performance gain, and that’s something to build on as the championship continues.”

 

The fifth round of the Australian Rally Championship is September’s Rally Australia, but Reeves and Smyth have more international appearances before then.

 

They’ll contest the next round of the Rally America series, the New England Forest Rally in Maine, on July 26 and 27, hoping to build on their recent success in the USA.

 

They have won the two-wheel drive category in the previous two rounds of the championship, and will again drive a Ford Fiesta to try to push for the championship title.

 

“We’ve done two of the four rounds so far, and have won the 2WD component in both, so we’re confident of another good result,” Reeves added.

 

“This event is the home rally for the team we are driving for – Team O’Neil - and we’d love to give them a home victory and put the title within reach.”

 

The New England Forest Rally is round five of the seven round Rally America series.

 

View photos from the Rally of Queensland here.