Batten Shows Strong Form At Alpine Rally

Paul Batten's strong form in the 2007 NEC ARC continued last weekend when he contested the Alpine Rally, held in Lakes Entrance. After driving his self funded Subaru STi to a hard fought win in the 2007 www.rally.com.au Rally Challenge, and the Hyundai supported Excel to a win in the Victorian Rallydrive Excel Series the Alpine rally saw a big change of pace with Paul stepping into his father Mike's Datsun 1600 in the enormously popular Alpine Rally for classic cars.

In a great performance from the young driver, Batten lead the event early on Saturday, however his charge was put to an end when he was forced to retire his Fullerton Financial Services/Pitman Trucks backed Datsun 1600 due to a gearbox failure.

The Alpine Rally attracted a massive 113 crews to Lakes Entrance and was an event Paul had always wanted to compete in. "Kari and the guys from Seldom Seen Vehicles and Engineering did a great job in the lead up to event preparing the car, but the first time I stepped into it was on Friday's media day. I had never driven the car in anger before so I had a lot of catching up to do to get familiar with it!" said Paul.

The team orders required a steady approach to the event as Paul had not competed in a rear wheel drive car for over 2 years.

"There was definitely a transitional period getting my head around the major handling differences to what I have been used to," Paul explained. "We had a spin in stage 3 which I put down to Dad distracting me with driving advice! But I really did struggle early on with the slower corners."

Despite this the team had set some consistent stage times and were placed 2nd to Claude Murray at the end of the first division.

Batten's father Mike, who finished third driving in the last Alpine admits it took him a while to get used to the navigators seat with his son at the wheel.

"I was building up trust on a stage by stage basis!" said Mike. "Paul was driving really well but it took some getting used to, he wasn't having any moments and seemed to have things well under control but occasionally I would pop my head up and wonder what I was doing there!"

With a few stages now behind him Paul took the lead with a win on Stage 5, partly helped by current leader Murray having an off road excursion

"The plan was to drive our own event, so Dad and I hadn't been taking stage times and we were totally unaware of our position, I was really getting used to the car though and it was a joy to drive," said Paul.

"I had a difficult time with our new Subaru at the NGK Rally of Melbourne so it was really nice to be able to do my thing and have the car do exactly what I wanted," he continued.

This promising result was followed by a disappointing gearbox failure with the normally reliable Datsun grinding to a halt on the 6th stage. "The gearbox has been in the car for 6 years without a hiccup, and we just assumed in the lead-up that it wasn't an item to worry about" said Mike.

"I was really disappointed because I was enjoying the drive so much. The car was great to drive and I was really getting my eye in, and looking forward to the longer stages. I had no idea how competitive we had been and was amazed we were in the top 5 let alone to be leading the event" said Paul Batten.

The team were generously supported by NEC ARC rival Bruce Fullerton's company Fullerton Financial Services on the event.

"It was great having Bruce on board for the Alpine. As a driver he would have liked to be out there, but he was definitely there in spirit and I think a few people though he was driving with the familiar Fullerton Financial Services sticker on the windscreen!" said Paul.

Dave Pitman from Pitman Truck Sales also got behind the Datsun onslaught

"Dave was fresh from a third in class at the Mt Buller sprint and was keen to be involved in the Alpine - he definitely loves his motorsport and he is a great support to my team," said Paul.

The team would also like to thank Russell from Stuckeys tyres, the 14" Dunlops were in perfect condition after the 6 stages and giving plenty of grip.

The Event was won with an excellent drive from Darryn Snooks and Matt De Vaus in their Datsun Stanza, with Jesse Robison 2nd and Kari Dirickx from Seldom Seen Vehicles and Engineering rounding out the top 3.

After the final round in the Hyundai Excel Attention now turns back to Paul's NEC ARC team PBR and their plans for the 2008 season.

"We are still really feeling the financial effects of our ARC campaign, I would love to be in it again but at the moment I just can't afford it," said Paul.

"We have really done this year by the seat of our pants finances wise but still gone over budget by a big margin."

"We could cobble something together again for a few rounds but at the end of the day it's really hard to show what you are capable of when you are trying to drive under this pressure. All the same I have really enjoyed this year, and I am proud of what we have achieved together with the resources at our disposal".

"We would love to get back out there next year but we really need a viable option," said Paul.

For some highlights of the event featuring the Bat Dat see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzWxLu50028&feature=related

All photographs © www.hubblephotografix.com