RallySport Magazine September 2016

ARC TO GET ITS FIRST R5 CAR
As his wretched run
of bad luck continued
in South Australia,
Mark Pedder revealed
to RallySport Magazine
that he’s eyeing an R5
specification Ford Fiesta
for next year’s Australian
Rally Championship.
Pedder’s current Peugeot
208 Maxi (pictured) has
suffered a myriad of
mechanical problems this
season, culminating in an
engine failure in Lightforce
Rally SA.
While Pedder is still
hopeful of driving a Skoda
Fabia R5 in Kennards Hire
Rally Australia, he says a
Fiesta seems more likely
for 2017.
“Our company supplies
some product to M-Sport
in the UK, so driving a
Fiesta next season makes
more sense,” Pedder said.
“We need to work out
the logistics of it all, as the
parts for the Ford are more
expensive than for a Skoda
R5, but that’s where we are
looking at this stage.”
Pedder’s entry would
be the first for an R5 car
in the Australian Rally
Championship, and would
be seen as a further boost
to a series.
- PETER WHITTEN
Photo: Luke Whitten
A one-make series would
give young drivers, like Arron
Windus, a clear path to follow
in the ARC.
EXCITING ARC PLANS ON TRACK
By PETER WHITTEN
Australian Rally Championship
chairman, David Waldon, spoke
at length to RallySport Magazine
in South Australia, revealing some
exciting plans for the series over the
coming seasons.
While many of the plans are a work
in progress and will hopefully be
ratified in due course, among other
things, Waldon revealed:
• z Strategic direction for the ARC
for the next three years will soon be
announced by the Australian Rally
Commission, with further plans to
provide long-term stability in the
regulations until the end of 2025.
• z There are plans to support state
championship competitors to more
easily step into the ARC, by introducing
a number of measures designed to
remove barriers. This may include
a state championship-based points
system with prize pool, and a threeevent
national series for drivers in
older model cars.
• z The reduction of the championship
registration costs is also being
pursued, with Waldon believing that
all competitors should enjoy the
opportunity to compete against their
peers.
• z A one-make series is being
seriously assessed, as a way of giving
drivers a clear path up the rallying
ladder, and a junior development
series could again be re-introduced
into the ARC, with a sponsor already
being courted.
• z A continuation of the successful
growth of digital media exposure is
being expanded, with key partnerships
being formalised with national media
outlets.
• z The new Victorian round of the
ARC, based in Ballarat, is likely to
be the opening round of next year’s
championship.
• z There is also strong support for
future rounds of the ARC, including
Tasmania, and the potential calendar is
currently under review.
SEPTEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 7