WRC: Australia (2013)

Steve · Sep 4, 2013

I think there will be 3 MINIs, including the interesting and unusual entry mentioned in the second article below.

Coates hire Rally Australia (WRC.com)

Round 10

12 - 15 Sep 13

Categories:WRC, WRC-2, WRC-3

Based:Coffs Harbour

Surface:Gravel

Most Recent Winner:Mikko Hirvonen (2011)

Website:Rally Australia 12-15 September 2013

Coates hire Rally Australia is making its second visit to Coffs Harbour - the first one was in 2011, with Rally Australia then alternating with Rally New Zealand. Although Coffs Harbour is a recent addition to the calendar, both the area and the country have a long association with international rallying.

The town, which is 540 km north of Sydney, was the home of the Southern Cross rally as far back as the 1960s, and Australia has been hosting WRC events since 1989, with Rally Australia being voted â€œRally of the Yearâ€ three times in the late 1990s.

The location itself promises almost perfect conditions for visitors. Regardless of the month, local temperatures range between 19 and 27 degrees centigrade in this temperate region, and September tends to be warm and dry.

The locals also make a real effort - in 2011, a rally car was parked on the townâ€™s airport runway to greet visitors, and they even made a WRC sand sculpture in a local shopping centre. The result was over 90,000 spectators, which was a record for Australia.

The rally was also praised by the competitors. World Rally Championship manager Michele Mouton said she had been impressed with the turnout for the rally. â€œI have been happily surprised by the number of people attending the ceremonial start and the people at the autograph session before the rally was incredible. The organisation has been good on this event and they have a good base for the event here.â€ Mikko Hirvonen added: â€œThe stages are good here... Iâ€™m looking forward to coming back.â€

New for 2013 is a rally hub in the centre of Coffs Harbour, which incorporates the service park and a mixed surface super special stage which runs on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. It features two cars at a time with a simultaneous start on opposite sides of a former velodrome oval, before breaking out onto surrounding streets and finishing back in the oval.

Organisers promise one of the WRCâ€™s most compact events ever, with two of the three legs never straying more than 35km from Coffs Harbour. The 353.98km of competition, split between 22 stages, comprises 38 per cent of the routeâ€™s 930.88km.

One of the highlights will be the linking of two tests from 2011 to form a challenging 50km long test over fast country shire roads to open Saturdayâ€™s action.
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Challenging second MINI joins MINI WRC at Rally Australia (iRally.com)

04.09.2013 06:32

Hot on the heels of the news that Nathan Quinn will use a MINI John Cooper Works WRC for WRC Australia, news of a second MINI, this time for the East Coast Bullbars Australian Rally Championship round running concurrently out of Coffs Harbour.

Ric Cary from New South Wales is entering this former circuit racing MINI 1.6 litre turbo Challenge car, converted for gravel rallying.

The team has installed a Sadev six-speed sequential gearbox, uprated the suspension, improved the brakes and altered the ECU:

"Maybe weâ€™d had a few too many drinks one night...â€

â€œI like to think weâ€™re kind of pioneers. Other than the engine and the caged shell we literally pulled everything out and started again. Weâ€™ve had to beef everything up, fabricate parts that didnâ€™t exist before and try to work out how to make it fast and strong all at the same time."

â€œOver the year Iâ€™ve probably had five Mitsubishi Lancers, and it got to the point where you pulled them apart and just knew how to put them back together. With the MINI weâ€™ve had to learn everything from scratch, itâ€™s been quite an adventure.â€

â€œEveryone that has seen it thinks itâ€™s the best looking G2 rally car heyâ€™ve seen. Itâ€™s a MINI Challenge car on steroids!â€
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Nathan · Sep 5, 2013

"Maybe we’d had a few too many drinks one night...”

That's the best line

Angib · Sep 5, 2013

Nathan said: ↑

"Maybe weâ€™d had a few too many drinks one night...â€
That's the best line
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Almost a quote from one of the finest adverts I've seen - though I should point out this is advertising Australian beer (lager) to British TV viewers:

[ame=http://youtu.be/pmfP3B45rIg]Castlemaine XXXX - Somethin for the ladies - sweet sherry - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Sep 9, 2013

Two Motorsport Italia MINIs to take on Rally Australia (motorsport-italia.com)

This weekend at Rally Australia, born and bred Coffs Coaster Nathan Quinn will drive a Motorsport Italia-run MINI John Cooper Works WRC sporting the latest generation 01C engine, only ever used twice before in anger on WRC events.

Quinn’s first run in his MINI was this afternoon. He managed to squeeze in a 40 kilometre test before he faces the other WRC drivers on Thursday’s Qualifying Stage. The young Aussie’s first impressions of the MINI were positive: “The test today was interesting. I drove perhaps the 40 most valuable kilometres I’ve ever done in a rally car. There aren’t any words to describe the feeling. It was unreal. I’ll reflect tonight and really savour the moment – it was pretty special! At the start, I was driving more aggressively, then as I got to know the MINI, I became more comfortable and in control, which meant I was able to relax more. By the end of my runs we’d found a good set-up, which was a bit more forgiving than at the start. That’s important for me on this rally – especially on Day One.”

Quinn was flanked for the first time by experienced co-driver Glenn MacNeall – who sat with Chris Atkinson in the MINI on two WRC events last season. The rapport was there from the start: “Glenn and I immediately had a good feeling and his experience was essential in helping me to decipher the car’s behaviour and how we could fine tune the set-up to suit my driving style.”

Venezuelan drier Alex Gelvez will also take to the Australian roads in a MINI for the rally. However, his MINI will be RRC specification, qualifying him for the WRC 2 category. Gelvez joined Motorsport Italia’s sister team Ralliart Italy in Finland in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X and finished third in the WRC 2 Production Cup.

Now he returns in the higher performance MINI, confidant he’s ready to make the next step, but in no hurry to push too hard: “My feeling in the MINI is good. It’s a great car and very nice to drive. However, this is my first time using an RRC car. I’m very lucky to have both Venezuela and its Ministry of Sport behind me. Their support is fantastic and they have given me the confidence and stability to be able to take my rallying journey one step at a time!”

Gelvez’s focus is on finishing the event and completing all the stages successfully as he gets a feel for his new car: “I want to use Rally Australia to learn the car a little bit and do as many kilometres as possible. I won’t push immediately, because I know the most important thing at this point is to gain experience.” Alongside Gelvez for the first time will be Spanish navigator Borja Rozada, winner of the 2012 FIA Production car World Championship for Co-drivers.

Motorsport Italia Team Manager Bruno De Pianto is delighted to have two MINIs taking to the stages this weekend at Rally Australia: “The event will be important for both our drivers this weekend. Nathan knows the stages well. Rally Australia isn’t just his home event – these are the roads he grew up driving on! Based on his performance today, I’m confident that he can aim for a Top 10 finish. Meanwhile, Alex is just starting a journey in the MINI and will focus on getting experience. The unique roads here in Coffs Harbour will provide a great learning curve for him and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do.”
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Steve · Sep 11, 2013

Kris Meeke continues to make his point with an excellent start in Australia.

Meeke wins Australia qualifying (WRC.com)

12 Sep 13

Citroen's guest driver Kris Meeke made the best possible start to Rally Australia by going fastest on the Qualifying Stage near Coffs Harbour this morning.

It means the Brit, driving here in place of Dani Sordo and on only his second rally in a Citroen DS3 WRC, will have first choice of road position for the opening day of the rally.

In bright and sunny conditions, Meeke was quickest through the 5.54km stage in Bucca by 0.336sec from Sebastien Ogier in a Volkswagen Polo R WRC. Thierry Neuville was third, 0.309sec adrift of Ogier in a Qatar World Rally Team Ford Fiestas RS.

A pumped-up and delighted Meeke punched the air when his time was written on the board at the stage finish. â€œItâ€™s all about road position here, and that was perfect for me!â€ he told wrc.com. â€œItâ€™s not like Finland because this stage is new for everyone. It's a level playing field and I knew that I could deliver given a clean run.â€

First through the stage, Ogierâ€™s time had looked unbeatable until Meeke beat it near the end of the session. At the stage end however the Frenchman, who can wrap up the driversâ€™ championship this weekend, revealed that he could have done better. â€œIt was okay, but not the perfect stage for me,â€ he said. â€œTomorrowâ€™s starting order will be important so I pushed hard - but it wasnâ€™t 100 per cent.â€

Neuville too wasnâ€™t completely satisfied with his time. â€œI could have gone faster but I was a bit too careful in places,â€ the Belgian explained. â€œThis weekend is a new event for me, and itâ€™s all about finding a steady pace and keeping my second place in the championship.â€

Mads Ostberg was fourth in a Fiesta RS, the Norwegian lucky to escape a collision midway through. â€œWe hit a big rock on a long straight after a crest,â€ he explained. â€œIt was a really big impact on the front right so I took it a bit carefully in the next few corners. When I knew everything was okay I was right back on it again.â€

Andreas Mikkelsen was fifth in his Volkswagen Polo R after a shaky start. â€œI messed up on the first few corners because I missed the right lines,â€ he said.

Mikko Hirvonen, who reported very slippery conditions, was sixth fastest, with Evgeny Novikov seventh and a downbeat Jari-Matti Latvala eighth. â€œIâ€™m missing something,â€ said the Finn. â€œI thought Iâ€™d done a good run but Iâ€™m not sure where I lost the time. Maybe I was too sideways in some of the corners.â€

Khalid Al Qassimi was ninth quickest with local driver Nathan Quinn rounding off the WRC runners in tenth.

Meeke and his World Rally Car rivals will select their starting positions at a rally show in Coffs Harbour city centre from 1615hrs local time. The rallyâ€™s first stage, the Coffs Super Special, gets underway at 1830hrs.

Here are the WRC qualifying times (+ times relative to Meekeâ€™s)

1. Kris Meeke 2min 39.268sec
2. Sebastien Ogier + 0.336
3. Thierry Neuville + 0.645s
4. Mads Ostberg + 1.261s
5. Andreas Mikkelsen + 1.396s
6. Mikko Hirvonen + 2.062s
7. Evgeny Novikov + 2.089s
8. Jari-Matti Latvala + 2.193s
9. Khalid Al Qassimi + 6.621s
10. Nathan Quinn + 8.245s
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Steve · Sep 11, 2013

Rally fans warned: watch where you step (MaxRally.com)

by Giles Wade / 12th September 2013

Rally Australia officials have urged caution on the New South Wales stages after the early arrival of the Red-Bellied Black Snake.

The snake, usually around two metres in length, has is usually on prevalent in the summer, but the early spring sunshine has led to them making an earlier than expected appearance on the dirt roads around Coffs Harbour.

An official from the event said: â€œWeâ€™re just making people aware that there are snakes around on the roads and itâ€™s worth being vigilant. In all honesty, these kind of snakes will move pretty quickly when people are around, but if you catch one unawares they can be aggressive.â€

The Red-Bellied Black Snake can be deadly, but doesnâ€™t usually inject sufficient venom to kill people, which is nice. Most commonly found around billabongs and other water features on the east coast â€“ it has been known to venture into urban areas as well.

Qualifying winner Kris Meeke admitted he had heard about the warnings. He said: â€œThatâ€™s a good reason not to stop to go to the toilet before the stages! And itâ€™s another very good reason for keeping the car on the road!â
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Steve · Sep 11, 2013

Angry drivers demand Australia re-think (MaxRally.com)

by Giles Wade / 12th September 2013

The factory drivers in Rally Australia have spoken out about safety concerns at running with two-minute gaps on tomorrowâ€™s gravel stages.

While there remains an outside chance of rain in New South Wales tomorrow or Saturday, the drivers are worried at what they see as a major visibility issue.

Qualifying stage winner Kris Meeke said: â€œThis isnâ€™t a commercial thing or anything like that, itâ€™s a safety thing â€“ pure and simple. We have to have three minutes between the cars, weâ€™re risking our lives out there. And itâ€™s not just a safety thing for us, either, itâ€™s for the spectators.â€

Citroen, M-Sport and Volkswagen have all contacted the rally organisers to push the case for increasing the current two-minute gap, but they have been told itâ€™s not possible.

One source within Rally Australia said: â€œWe only have so much time for this event to pass through the public roads; once our road closures are up, we have to open the road again â€“ thatâ€™s the law. If we give three minutes to the World Rally Car drivers, then we will lose one of our support events straight away. And letâ€™s not forget, itâ€™s the support events which help to make Australiaâ€™s round of the world championship viable.â€

M-Sportâ€™s Mads Ostberg understood the problem, but said: â€œIf the rain comes then it wonâ€™t be a problem, but right now itâ€™s difficult. Itâ€™s not just the dust, itâ€™s the sun, it comes through the trees and makes like a wall that you canâ€™t see through. If itâ€™s cloudy then itâ€™s better because you usually get some more wind with the cloud. If it stays at two minutes then it will be very, very diffiult. We have pushed them very hard, but they seem to being strict about this.â€
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Steve · Sep 12, 2013

Meeke opts to start at the back (WRC.com)

12 Sep 2013

Rally Australia qualifying stage winner Kris Meeke has opted to start tomorrow's opening leg last of the top priority drivers.

The Citroen DS3 pilot earned the right to choose his start position first by topping the qualifying times. He hopes to take advantage of the best road conditions by starting 10th when the opening leg leaves the Coffs Harbour base tomorrow morning.

His choice was predictable. A long dry period has left the gravel tracks dry and dusty. While the early starters face the unenviable task of sweeping loose stones from the surface, he should benefit from a cleaner and faster line.

Meeke’s only concern was the threat of hanging dust among the trees. However, organisers are considering extending the usual two minute gap between cars by an extra minute, as they did in qualifying, for safety reasons.

Sebastien Ogier, second in qualifying, will start immediately ahead of Meeke in his Volkswagen Polo R with Thierry Neuville’s Ford Fiesta RS ahead of the Frenchman. All the drivers after Meeke opted for the lowest position available.

Coffs Harbour resident Nathan Quinn will be first on the road on his debut in a Mini John Cooper Works.

The full start order is:

1. Nathan Quinn
2. Khalid Al Qassimi
3. Jari-Matti Latvala
4. Evgeny Novikov
5. Mikko Hirvonen
6. Andreas Mikkelsen
7. Mads Ostberg
8. Thierry Neuville
9. Sebastien Ogier
10 Kris Meeke
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Steve · Sep 12, 2013

Only 2 stages today, each just 1.6km. Rather meaningless so far as 10sec still covers the top 10. As Ogier says, the rally starts tomorrow.

After SS2: Mikkelsen leads after Thursday’s stages (WRC.com)

12 Sep 13

Stage data: SS1 / SS2 Coffs (1.60 kilometres)

Stage description:

This new stage is based in the heart of Coffs Harbour, across the road from the service park. It features two cars at a time, with a simultaneous start on opposite sides of a former velodrome oval before breaking out on to surrounding streets, and the finish back in the oval. The surface is a combination of asphalt and gravel.

How the action unfolded:

Volkswagen’s Andreas Mikkelsen holds a slender overnight lead of Rally Australia after the opening two stages on Thursday evening.

The Norwegian was fastest on the first pass of the Super Special in downtown Coffs Harbour - run as SS1 - and second on the second (SS2) to hold a 0.9sec advantage over Citroen DS3 driver Kris Meeke. Mikkelsen’s Volkswagen team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala is third, 0.5sec behind Meeke.

It is the first time that Mikkelsen has led a WRC rally, but it was a close call after he clipped a barrier with the left-hand front corner of his Polo R on the second loop.

“The stage was okay but I think the organisers sprayed water on the road after the first pass and suddenly it was super slippery,” he explained. “I think we’re okay, no damage.”

The water, sprayed on the dry earth sections to keep the dust clouds down, made conditions unexpectedly slippery for many of the WRC crews. “Some corners are like ice,” reported Meeke. “We put on a good show but took absolutely no risks.”

Cheered on by grandstands full of spectators, crews tackled the tight and twisty mixed surface test in pairs with headlights blazing. Drivers’ championship leader Sebastien Ogier ended the day fourth, and looking forward to Friday, when the action switches to the twisty gravel roads south of Coffs Harbour.

“I just tried to keep out of trouble here, but it was tricky because we decided to start with the hard [compound] tyres. Not the best in the slippery stuff - we didn’t expect more water on the stage. Tomorrow is the real start of the rally,” he said.

Mikko Hirvonen is fifth, with Thierry Neuville sixth and Mads Ostberg - who complained of bad understeer – seventh.

Coffs Harbour resident Nathan Quinn ended the day 10th on his debut in a Mini JCW World Rally Car, and managed to beat Khalid Al Qassimi on his second pass through the stage. “I’m learning a lot pretty quickly, now I can’t wait to get out on the wide roads tomorrow,” he said.

WRC 2

Ford Fiesta R5 driver Yuriy Protasov heads the WRC 2 standings, 0.5sec ahead of Yazeed Al Rajhi in a Fiesta RRC. Hayden Paddon is third but left for the overnight parc ferme concerned at the low battery voltage of his Skoda Fabia S2000.

Ford Fiesta R5 driver Subhan Aksa started the stage six minutes late after emergency work to cure an engine problem overran. The Indonesian lost power on the first pass through Thursday’s shakedown and M-Sport technicians stripped and rebuilt the engine this afternoon after it was found to be leaking oil and water.

Rally Australia resumes on Friday morning, with the first of eight stages, the 8.44km Tuckers Nob, getting underway at 1003hrs local time.
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Steve · Sep 13, 2013

Steve · Sep 13, 2013

They've had dust problems and have extended the intervals to 3min. I read somewhere they extended it further to 4min but I'm not sure about that.

Anyway, dust issues. Here's an example from Kris Meeke who says "Sometimes you can have a problem seeing with your own dust!"

Steve · Sep 13, 2013

Ogier reigns supreme Down Under (WRC.com)

13 Sep 13

Sebastien Ogier made an impressive start to his bid to clinch the FIA World Rally Championship drivers' title at Coates Hire Rally Australia by dominating todayâ€™s opening leg.

Having won the second of last nightâ€™s two short curtain-raising speed tests in the centre of Coffs Harbour, the Frenchman was fastest on all six of todayâ€™s country stages and one of the repeat town tests in his Volkswagen Polo R to overnight with a 20.0sec lead.

â€œIt was a perfect day,â€ admitted Ogier, who will secure his maiden title on Sunday if he collects nine points more than closest rival Thierry Neuville. â€œIt was a short day and there are two long days in front of us so nothing is done, but we couldnâ€™t have expected better.â€

After a long period without rain, the roads were covered in a slippery layer of thick gravel. Most were new to everyone and Ogier was cautious this morning as he checked his pace notes at rally speed before attacking harder in cleaner conditions this afternoon.

Mikko Hirvonen enjoyed one of his best days of a tough year. Despite a far from ideal road position, he held third before using the benefit of the swept roads to displace Citroen DS3 team-mate Kris Meeke from second this afternoon.

â€œIâ€™m really happy with my pace and, from my road position, Iâ€™m equally happy with second tonight,â€ said the Finn. â€œDust was a problem this afternoon and also in tonightâ€™s stages in town when it was hard to see anything.â€

Meeke won qualifying yesterday to earn the best start position. His thoughts were set on securing a solid points finish rather than chasing victory, and he looked certain to overnight in third until he stalled at the start of the final test and slipped to fourth

â€œI was quite happy this morning but I found it a bit more difficult this afternoon,â€ admitted the Northern Ireland driver. â€œIn these conditions you need experience of your car and I played it a little bit careful because this is only my second rally in the DS3. Iâ€™m driving my own race and I want to be at the finish.â€

Neuville was the beneficiary of Meekeâ€™s error, the Belgian 0.5sec ahead and 18.1sec behind Hirvonen in his Ford Fiesta RS. He admitted to feeling â€˜lostâ€™ on this morningâ€™s slippery roads but his confidence and pace improved along with the grip this afternoon.

It was a similar story from Jari-Matti Latvala. The Finn cut a downbeat figure as he ended the opening loop in eighth in a Polo R. But he fought back to fifth, aided by fastest time in the final stage, and is 19.6sec behind Meeke.

Rounding off the top six is a frustrated Mads Ostberg. The Norwegian felt he drove well but was disappointed with his times. â€œI was driving on the limit and couldnâ€™t do any more,â€ said Ostberg, who was lucky to survive a sideways impact with a rock in SS8 that was so hard that the door of his Fiesta RS flew open.

Andreas Mikkelsen, who led after last nightâ€™s opening tests, is seventh in a Polo R. He lost time with an overshoot but remained ahead of Russiaâ€™s Evgeny Novikov. Ostberg, Mikkelsen and Novikov are covered by just 7.5sec.

Coffs Harbour resident Nathan Quinn holds ninth after a solid debut in a Mini John Cooper Works with Khalid Al Qassimiâ€™s DS3 completing the leaderboard.

Dust hanging among the trees proved a constant hazard and organisers extended the gap between cars from two to three minutes this morning, before widening it to four minutes this afternoon as the breeze dropped totally.

Tomorrowâ€™s action begins at 08.00hrs and competitors face six more stages covering 132.68km. Key to the day will be the monster 49.90km Nambucca test which opens both the morning and afternoon loops.
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Steve · Sep 14, 2013

Six of the best for Ogier (WRC.com)

14 Sep 13

Sebastien Ogier proved unbeatable in Coates Hire Rally Australia today as he won all six speed tests to more than double his lead to 45.9sec with one day remaining in this 10th round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

The Frenchman won all four country stages in his Volkswagen Polo R before rounding the day off with victory in both arena tests in downtown Coffs Harbour. He has won 14 of the 16 stages to date.

Ogier started the day with a 20.0sec advantage over Mikko Hirvonenâ€™s Citroen DS3 but nobody got close to him on the roads south-west of Coffs Harbour, which included two passes over the monster 50km Nambucca test.

â€œOur rally was perfect today but the final leg will be tough so we have to keep our concentration and focus,â€ said Ogier, who could secure his maiden world title at tomorrow afternoonâ€™s finish.

A thick coating of gravel made conditions slippery during this morningâ€™s first pass of the stages. The roads were cleaner this afternoon and Hirvonen was untroubled as he widened the gap over third-placed Thierry Neuville to 25.5sec.

Neuville took no risks, checking his pace notes at rally pace this morning before upping his speed this afternoon to set top three times. â€œWe have been quite clever. We discovered the roads the first time through because they were new and went faster in the second pass when we knew them better,â€ said the Ford Fiesta RS pilot.

Kris Meeke was on course to retain fourth until he crashed in the second pass through Nambucca, his Citroen DS3 rolling seven times.

â€œI went into a second gear corner 5-10kph too fast,â€ explained Meeke. â€œI thought Iâ€™d got away with it, but the car just slipped off the road. It nearly stopped, but unfortunately there was a very steep bank down into a field and it just kept tumbling.â€

The beneficiary was Jari-Matti Latvala, who came out on top of a three-car fight with Andreas Mikkelsen and Mads Ostberg. He punctured the rear right tyre on his Polo R after hitting a bank this morning but the Finn was more settled than yesterday.

Mikkelsen lies fifth, 23.2sec behind his Volkswagen colleague, but was caught out by the same bend as Latvala. He ended the test with a tyre partly off the rim in his Polo R but held off Mads Ostberg by 2.5sec tonight.

Ostberg was only a second behind Latvala until a high-speed spin into a ditch in the final country stage cost the Fiesta RS driver 20 seconds.

Evgeny Novikov lies seventh in a similar car, despite losing more than two minutes with a left rear puncture. However, the Russian has a comfortable 2min 34sec advantage over Nathan Quinnâ€™s Mini John Cooper Works, Quinn delighting his home town fans on his World Rally Car debut.

Khalid Al Qassimi is ninth in a DS3 with WRC 2 leader Abdulaziz Al Kuwari rounding off the top 10 in a Fiesta RRC.

Tomorrowâ€™s final leg leaves Coffs Harbour at 08.00 and heads north for two identical loops of three tests covering 125.14km before the afternoon finish back in the town.
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Kris Meekeâ€™s crash in his own words (WRC.com)

14 Sep 13

Kris Meeke's second WRC trial in a Citroen DS3 World Rally Car came to an abrupt end on Stage 13, when his car slid off the road and rolled seven times down a hillside.

Hereâ€™s what the Brit had to say about the crash, and how he thinks it will affect his chances of further drives for the French squad.

Q: Kris, what happened?
KM: â€œItâ€™s quite simple. I went into a second gear corner and I arrived five or ten kph too fast. I thought Iâ€™d got away with it, but the car just slipped off the road. It nearly stopped, but unfortunately there was a very steep bank down into a field and it just kept tumbling. A very slow accident, but hey, an accident is an accident â€“ the same result unfortunately.â€

Q: Rally Australia was another big opportunity for you. You must be terribly disappointed.
KM: â€œIâ€™m thankful for the opportunity, but sorry I couldnâ€™t deliver on my instructions. Not a great feeling at the moment.â€

Q: How do you think this will affect your chances of more drives with Citroen?
KM: â€œI donâ€™t know, itâ€™s up the the team. Itâ€™s always difficult, you know. Finland was a one-off opportunity and then there was another one-off opportunity here. When itâ€™s one-off opportunities all the time itâ€™s difficult. But okay, I was given instructions to have a clean race here and I havenâ€™t done it. So weâ€™ll hav to see what the outcome is.â€
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Steve · Sep 14, 2013

Press release from the team running MINIs:

Quinn Impresses After Consistent Day

After another day out on the stunning shire roads of the Coffs Coast, Aussie Nathan Quinn and his co-driver Glenn MacNeall have proven that consistency pays, moving up one place on the Coates Hire Rally Australia leaderboard into 8th place outright following an unfortunate accident that claimed fellow WRC competitor Kris Meeke.

Quinn, who was weary of todayâ€™s stages, can breathe a sigh of relief after finishing the day in a good position and with a car that is in great shape for the third and final day of the rally. â€œI was always nervous about todayâ€™s stages, so to get through without any issues is a great success. I continued to learn more about the car and how I should be driving it, which I am hoping will come in handy for tomorrows even faster stagesâ€ said Quinn.

Quinn, who has grown up rallying on these roads says that the roads used on Sunday are some of his favourites of the event and although he knows them well, he still needs to drive wisely and not change his strategy in order to achieve his goal of a Top Ten finish. _â€œWe are sitting in eighth place tonight and I am very happy with that. I donâ€™t want to un-do all of the work Glenn, myself and our team have done by getting cocky now so we will drive at a pace that is fast enough, but not one to risk it all_â€ he explained.

Motorsport Italia Team Manager Bruno De Pianto continues to impressed with Quinn's performance: "Nathan's really doing a great job. He's driving a car he hadn't competed in before this week against more experienced drivers and he's managed to stay calm at put in consistently strong times. He really deserves to get a good result tomorrow in front of his home crowd. We're behind him all the way, so let's hope for a good finish tomorrow!"

Unfortunately for Alexander Gelvez, his day has not gone quite as smoothly. After a small off this morning where spectators assisted to push him and co-driver Borja Rozada back onto the road, Gelvez was unable to continue on the afternoon stages due to gearbox issues. â€œWe had an issue with the gearbox on the Nambucca stage. Our crew was able to replace the gearbox during the next Service, but when we went to leave to continue with the rally, we noticed that oil was leaking from the new gearbox . Unfortunately there was a problem, because one of the new parts was faulty. It was not the fault of the team. The team has now rectified the problem and we are ready for tomorrow, which will be long and tough day."

Gelvez will spend tomorrow getting more experience in the car and wishes to build on his stage times as the day progresses.

Team Manager Bruno De Pianto was disappointed for Gelvez, but pleased the Venezuelan remains positive in his approach to the fourth and final day of the event: "It was a real shame for this to happen to Alex. However, I'm sure he'll go out tomorrow focused and ready to increase his experience again. He's very happy to be here thanks to Venezuela and its Ministry of Sport and will always make the most of the opportunity they have given him."
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Steve · Sep 14, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziudpKq9w90]Wrc Rally Australia (2013) Kris Meeke's Crash ! - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Sep 14, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrsVNjt_OoA]WRC Coates Hire Rally Australia 2013: Stages 1-5 - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Sep 14, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDF204dJAxk]WRC Coates Hire Rally Australia 2013: Stages 6-10 - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Sep 14, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofjIWO4wlYM]WRC Coates Hire Rally Australia 2013: Stages 11-12 - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Sep 14, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SKOIb3ptWc]WRC Coates Hire Rally Australia 2013: Stages 13-16 - YouTube[/ame]

RallyMini370 · Sep 15, 2013

I know how those guys feel building the G2 Mini...no gain without pain!

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