Brendan excited ahead of Rally Australia battle

Brendan Reeves and Rhianon Gelsomino are preparing for the biggest event on Australia’s rally calendar, Coates Hire Rally Australia, which starts on Friday. The event is round 10 of the World Rally Championship and round 5 of the ECB Australian Rally Championship (ARC).

It was at this event last year that Brendan's great ARC results started with a Leg win on day two of the rally. The long Nambucca stage, at almost 50 kilometres in length, is one of his favourites on the calendar and he is looking forward to tackling it again this year.

Brendan will once again drive his RallySchool.com.au Mazda2 to battle his fiercest rival, Scott Pedder, in a Renault Clio. With two outright wins each this year, the battle for championship honours doesn’t look like easing off - each man is desperate for maximum points and would love to go into the final round of the championship in November with a handy points buffer.

For now though, Brendan's focus is on this week’s rally which will be based out of Coffs Harbour. Rally Australia is a real endurance event with three long days of rallying awaiting competitors. The event uses a mix of forestry and shire roads and covers a total competitive distance of over 315 kilometres.

“I love Rally Australia as it's our chance to compete against the world's best drivers and cars,” Brendan said.

“There is so much coverage of this event and it's also the longest of the year, making it a true challenge.”

Brendan and Rhianon will spend the next two days doing their event reconnaissance. This involves driving over the stages in a normal road car and writing their pace notes for the rally.

A ceremonial start in the centre of Coffs Harbour will kick off the event on Thursday evening with the rally proper getting underway on Friday morning. The event concludes on Sunday afternoon with a podium finish at the Coffs Harbour International Stadium.