From 1989 until 2006, Rallye Australia was based on the continent’s west coast, in Perth. In 2009, it made its return to the WRC community in New South Wales, 3,500km to the east. Despite the move, it continues to offer the same challenging cocktail of tricky, technically demanding stages, blind corners, soft ground and frequently changing grip. This year’s longest stage is ‘Nambucca’ (48.92km).
To mark the 25th anniversary of its WRC status, the Coates Hire Rally Australia will feature few changes (two new stages and some modifications) compared with 2013 when Neuville memorably deprived Ogier of the Drivers’ title by finishing second overall AND winning the Power Stage, despite the Frenchman’s domination of the event (19 stage wins from 22!). Ogier had to wait another month to wrap up the contest…
After they both wasted a chance to boost their championship chances in Germany, Sébastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala will resume their battle for the title split by 44 points, in favour of the Frenchman. On paper, their VW team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen can still take the 2014 crown, but nobody else.
Meanwhile, Hyundai Motorsport has been busy recuperating from its landmark one-two triumph in Trier ahead of the make’s first visit to Australia as a factory team since 2003. Its task is complicated by the fact that testing on site is not permitted. Hayden Paddon and Chris Atkinson, who last drove for the squad in Mexico, prepared for the event in France’s Vosges Mountains, a very long way from Coffs Harbour!
It’s been a decade since Citroën last won in Australia (Duval, 2005). Loeb and Ogier both memorably retired in 2011, while Kris Meeke went off once a day in 2013! This time round, the Briton will be making his 50th WRC appearance after coming close to his maiden win in Germany.
Hopes are high, too, at M-Sport which will celebrate its 250th world class start since 1997. Mikko Hirvonen claimed his first WRC victory in Australia in 2006 and has since won three times there these past four years. Elfyn Evans will be counting on his experience of the country’s National Capital Rally last year in a Ford Fiesta R2.
Last but not least, six of the WRC-2’s provisional top 10 are making the trip to Australia, namely Lorenzo Bertelli, Ott Tanak, Yury Protasov, Jari Ketomaa, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Yazeed Al-Rahji, all in Fiestas.