Battens RS Bid Dealt A Harsh Blow.

Coates Rally Qld dealt a harsh blow to the promising young combination of Paul Batten and John Anderson in their Subaru RS Challenge car. The first leg began with great promise, with the crew’s first Subaru RS Challenge stage win on SS1.

After some problems later in the leg the crew were delighted to take 3rd place behind Gavin Mosher and Eli Evans in the first heat. “We were very happy with 3rd place after a day with so many ups and downs. We made a few mistakes and had our share of problems throughout the day, but we enjoyed ourselves and really learnt a lot – which is the main priority”.

The second heat saw a change in tactics from Batten – “I think we made some unnecessary mistakes yesterday with the wrong mindset, so today the plan is to focus on driving and not worry what others are doing around me”

The change in tactic was working well for the team, and going into the final two stages they were placed second behind the experienced team of Will Orders and Toni Feaver. A position which could have seen the team with their first rally Win in the Subaru RS Challenge.

However it all came undone on SS16 Araucaria 2 with the team involved in a dramatic high speed accident. “Inexperience with pace notes was our downfall. We had called the crest as a ’10’ and as with similar calls in that section we took to it flat out. However due to the speed we carried, we were airborne over the crest when I needed to be on the ground, failing to take the next corner. I held the throttle flat trying to pull us back on to the road but we were just carrying too much speed.”

The crew fact that we sustained no major injuries is credit to the Bond roll cage that Subaru installed” said co-driver John.

The damage leaves the team without a car to contest the rest of the Subaru RS Challenge, and running on a shoestring budget the team is in a desperate situation. “The goal this year was to constantly improve to the point where at the end of the year we are on the pace with our experienced competitors, and we were on our way to achieving that aim until this incident. It is really disappointing as I feel we could do well in this series, but we had not budgeted on this.”

The team is currently evaluating options in the hope of making the next round in Tasmania . Although this is major incident for the team, Paul is focussed on the future ‘As a privateer team, contesting each round is a challenge, let alone a full rebuild. However we have the drive and determination to make it, and with a little luck and further support we hope to be there’ hit a bank sideways at around 160km/h throwing the car into a massive roll. “The fact that we sustained no major injuries is credit to the Bond roll cage that Subaru installed,” said co-driver John.

The damage leaves the team without a car to contest the rest of the Subaru RS Challenge, and running on a shoestring budget the team is in a desperate situation. “The goal this year was to constantly improve to the point where at the end of the year we are on the pace with our experienced competitors, and we were on our way to achieving that aim until this incident. It is really disappointing as I feel we could do well in this series, but we had not budgeted on this.”

The team is currently evaluating options in a vain hope of making the next round in Tasmania. Although this is major incident for the team, Paul is focussed on the future “As a privateer team, contesting each round is a challenge, let alone a full rebuild. However we have the drive and determination to make it, and with a little luck and further support we hope to be there.”