Brendan ready to tackle Coffs Coast roads

Mazda2 driver Brendan Reeves heads into this week's Coates Hire Rally Australia full of confidence after a successful test at the weekend and a string of recent international wins.

Rally Australia, based in Coffs Harbour, is round five of the 2013 ECB Australian Rally Championship (ARC) as well as round 10 of the World Rally Championship.

"We had a really successful test yesterday at the RallySchool.com.au track at Colo Park," Reeves said on Monday.

"We made a small improvement to the mid-range delivery of power to the engine and the car did a full day of testing in tough conditions as the roads were sandy and quite rough. The team are now preparing the car for the Power Stage on Thursday."

After a very successful Rally Australia two years ago, Reeves is looking forward to returning to the Coffs Coast roads. In 2011, the last time the World Rally Championship event was held in Australia, he was as high as 11th overall against the world's best rally drivers before a fuel pump problem cost him time and dropped him back to 17th outright.

The 2013 edition of Rally Australia starts on Thursday morning with a qualifying stage before the five fastest qualifiers contest the Power Stage for bonus championship points. On Thursday evening the rally proper gets underway with two runs of the Super Special Stage in the heart of Coffs Harbour.

Competitors then head south on both Friday and Saturday, covering around 200 competitive kilometres over fourteen stages. On Sunday, rally action takes place in the Glenreagh area where crews will contest a further six stages and 125 kilometres of competition.

Reeves currently sits fifth in the ARC title race after four rounds and is looking to increase his standing this weekend.

"I am very excited to be competing in Rally Australia again," Reeves added. "With so many points on offer due to the rally being three heats and an endurance event, we are hoping to climb back up the Championship leaderboard."