Round 2 of the WA State Rally Championship and Clubman Rally Series is due to run on Saturday the 19th of May.

Donnelly is a very popular rally with competitors and spectators due to the spectacular scenery and smooth, fast roads.

The rally is staged in the tall timber forests around the old Donnelly Mill site, not far from Bridgetown. Spectator points are a short drive from the Service Park and Rally HQ which are based at the old mill.

The action starts at 1:30PM, with competition running into the dark. Total competitive distance for WARC entrants is 152 km.

The organisers are in dire need of officials to help run the event. If you or someone you know would like a private spectator point in the forest or would like to work at a flying finish or stop control, please contact Ann Skipworth: 9455 7287 or email: frankskipworth@optusnet.com.au

Further event details can be found of the Rallywa website: www.rallywa.com

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A few photos from Saturday

A few of the faces on here, and a few of the workshop vehicles.







and the 4WD winner



lots more on my smugmug site later this week.

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Race Torque Dyno 399 NM, 248Kw @ 20PSI

Straight roads are for fast cars, twisty roads are for fast drivers. I have or am neither.

http://tttmsp.smugmug.com/

^^^ That's the rally chaplain leaning in my window giving me a bit of pre-rally "God bless you" action. I rekon that's all the churchin' up I need for the next 20 years.

You look real interested Doug

LOL @ Doug.
Well done on your 3rd and to Stona for 2nd.
I'll get an article together shortly and post about the place.

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He probably saw the aura eminating from the famous yellow driving suit!

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No Subarus currently owned

He probably saw the aura eminating from the famous yellow driving suit!

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No Subarus currently owned

A combined field of 39 rally teams made the long trek southwest for the Trade Hire Donnelly Rally in mid May. A favourite with competitors, the tall timber Forests around the old Mill site of Donnelly (near Bridgetown) hosted round 2 of the WA State Rally Championship (WARC) and Clubman Cup.

The rally changed date this year from its more usual September slot to May. Some worried that the date change may have made the roads too dry, especially as the rally had changed its running schedule, now using 3 special stages (totalling approx 50km) run 3 times. The concerns were unjustified as the moisture content proved near perfect and the roads held up fairly well to the new format. Known for the fast, smooth roads and spectacular scenery, teams completed pace noting early on Saturday morning before the competition started midday and pushed on into the dark.

With round 1 winner Tom Wilde following the ARC to compete in Queensland, the Donnelly points were up for grabs and several teams had their eye on the prize.
The first group of stages appeared to pass without incident and all teams returned for the first service. Many found the roads offered good grip and unlike the Forest Rally in late March, tyre wear was not a major hassle.

It was not until SS5 that the rally saw its first retirement. 2011 ARC 2WD champions Raz Vlad/Damon Nicoli retired their Ford Fiesta followed by Trevor Chudleigh/Toni Feaver in SS6 in their Toyota Sprinter. Another 2WD team retired in SS6 when they saw the world upside down whilst fighting hard for the 2WD lead. Julian Wright/Ian DeBoer lightly rolled their Datsun 1200 and bowed out of the 2WD battle early.

Sean Keating/Caleb Ash (Nissan Silvia) had been going very well for most of Donnelly. The pair had been running around 13th place and had set a top ten stage time. In the darkness of SS8 the pair had a problem and dropped around 25 minutes in the stage, however did make the finish line.

On the final stage of the rally (SS9) Garry Whittle/Ryan Doe had a mechanical failure in their WRX and retired before reaching the final time control. Perhaps the failure was a result of the roll or subsequent rebuild after the Forest Rally.

After a 150+ competitive kilometres, the results were in.
Steve Oxley/Michael Wood debuted their new WRX at WARC level and were rewarded with 10th place. Kiel Douglas/Anthony Paynter brought their fire breathing V8 Holden Commodore home in 9th and Mike Civil this time paired with Lee Tierney had a trouble free run in their Lancer Evo 6 to take 8th place. At Donnelly 2011 Chard Marshall/Sharon Black struggled with brake problems in their WRX, losing a lot of time. For this years event the pair exorcised their demons and finished the rally in a well driven 7th place. 6th place and first 2wd went to Dylan King/Tony Floyd (Ford Escort). The pair drove flawlessly and left everyone else in 2WD in their wake. Many had predicted that King who is just 17 years old would be a driver to watch and he is surely proving them right.
John O’Dowd/Ben Searcy (Spec C WRX) took another consistent top five finish with 5th place behind husband and wife Lee & Jo McIlroy (WRX). In the early part of the rally the McIlroys had been running in the top 3, battling with Doug Tostevin/Tammy Adams. In an unusual turn of events, Lee became ill during a night stage, however the pair made 4th place.
The fight with the McIlroys ended with Doug Tostevin/Tammy Adams taking their green WRX to a fine place on the podium with 3rd. Alex Stone/Hanna Drury finished in 2nd place in their WRX and bagged another good collection of points toward the overall championship. After a good tussle during the rally, Leigh Hynes/Stuart Percival were able to wrestle the Donnelly win out of the hands of Stone/Drury, however only just. In the end the winning margin was just 7 seconds. For Hynes/Percival it was a rally the pair had won previously on several occasions and no doubt a favourite.

Round 3 of the WARC and Clubman Cup will run in forests around Wellington Dam in Collie on the 23rd of June.
Details can be found on the rallywa website: RallyWA - RallyWA.com

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Did you go to the rally Karl, or write that from reading the results?

Oh, and Lee Mac didn't leave the door open for me, we were equal at the last service then I kicked his arse fair and square. He didn't blow chunks 'till halfway through the last stage, by then I was already polishing the trophy.

There is a rally chaplain! PFFT!!