The 2010 Australian Rally Championship was series of six rallying events held across Australia, including the international event 2010 International Rally of Queensland. It was the 43rd season in the history of the competition.
Husband and wife team Simon and Sue Evans won their fourth Australian Rally Championship in five years. Driving their own privately prepared Subaru Impreza the duo became the first pair to win the Championship in vehicles of three different manufacturers.
After winning the 2009 championship in a Mitsubishi the Evans returned in 2010 with a Subaru, while after a several year lay-off the Pedder brothers in a two car team of Mitsubishis. Scott Pedder was instantly competitive, winning the opening round of the series, the all-tarmac Rally Tasmania. Simon Evans and his brother Eli, driving a JAS Motorsport built Honda Civic Type-R, shared the second places. With the dirt-surface season commencing with the Forest Rally, Peddar won both heats again from Evans. Former factory Ford rallyist Darren Windus making a one-off appearance at his home event in a Toyota and Ryan Smart, also Toyota mounted shared the third places. Next the Australian Championship returned to Coffs Harbour when Simon Evans won his first Heat for the year and backed it up immediately. Pedder was second in Heat 1 but rolled out of the rally in Heat 2. Mitsubishi driver Nathan Quinn finished second in Heat 2, with Smart taking a pair of thirds.
At Rally SA Evans won Heat 1 from Pedder and Mitsubishi driver Justin Dowel, but Heat 2 saw Evans win unopposed as an accident took Pedder out of the rally and the championship. While co-driver John Mortimer was largely unhurt, Pedder sustained a knee and ankle injuries ruling him out of a return to the championship in 2010. [1] Evans won the heat from Quinn and Eli Evans.
Evans won the International Rally of Queensland, the ARCs annual get-together with the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. Glen Raymond was second in a Mitsubishi with Mark Pedder third. The victory was enough for Evans to secure his fourth championship. Reymond struck back at his home event when Evans and Pedder stuck trouble and the Mitsubishi driver raced home to take a popular win Rally Victoria. Fellow Mitsubishi drivers Justin Dowel and Mark Pedder finished second and third. The podium finish for Pedder allowed him to tie on points with Ryan Smart for runner's up in the championship. The countback worked in Smart's favour giving him and sister Rebecca Smart second place in the title.
Scott Pedder still had enough points to finish fourth in the title, four points ahead of Queensland Mitsubishi driver Steven Shepheard. Glen Raymond and Eli Evans all finished the season within ten points of Scott Peddar.
Mitsubishi won the manufacturers title, 444 points to Subaru's 432. Eli Evans in the Honda took out the two-wheel drive title convincingly. Mitsubishi driver Michael Boaden won the Privateer's Cup. [2]
The 2010 season featured six rallies. [3]
| Round | Rally | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rally Tasmania | 26–28 February |
| 2 | Quit Forest Rally | 16–18 April |
| 3 | Coffs Coast Rally | 14–16 May |
| 4 | Scouts Rally SA | 24–26 June |
| 5 | International Rally of Queensland | 31 July–1 August |
| 6 | Rally Victoria | 13 November |
The following are the competitors from the 2010 ARC season. [4]
| Team | Vehicle | Number | Driver | Co-driver | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evans Motorsport | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 1 | Simon Evans | Sue Evans | Group N |
| Honda Civic Type R | 3 | Eli Evans | Glen Weston | PRC | |
| Raymond Partners Accounting | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X | 2 | Glen Raymond | Matt Raymond | Group N |
| Activ Rallysport | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 4 | Justin Dowel | Matt Lee | PRC |
| OzTec Suspension | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X | 5 | Steven Shepheard | John McCarthy | PRC |
| Yandina Automotive Repairs | Toyota Corolla Sportivo | 6 | Ryan Smart | Rebecca Smart | Group N P |
| Pedders Suspension | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 7 | Scott Pedder | Jonathan Mortimer | Group N |
| 8 | Mark Pedder | Catherine Smallbone | PRC | ||
| Wauchope Motors | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 9 | Michael Boaden | Helen Cheers | PRC |
| Speedie Contractors | Toyota Corolla Sportivo | 10 | Simon Knowles | Margot Knowles | Group N P |
| Fullerton Financial Services | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 11 | Bruce Fullerton | Hugh Reardon-Smith | PRC |
| Daikin and Allied Air Conditioning | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 12 | Nathan Quinn | David Green | Group N |
| Hand Shield | Mitsubishi Mirage | 13 | Barry Kirk | Daniel Wilson | PRC |
| Groundforce Truck Rentals | Toyota Corolla S2000 | 14 | Darren Windus | John Allen | Super 2000 |
| Secure Glass | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 15 | Roman Watkins | Toni Feaver | PRC |
| Busselton Subaru Service | Subaru Impreza WRX | 16 | Leigh Hynes | Stuart Percival | Group N |
| Wendys Bunbury Forum | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 19 | Tom Wilde | Nerralie Wilde | PRC |
| Mark Fawcett Motorsport | Subaru Impreza WRX Spec C | 20 | Mark Fawcett | Simon Ellis | PRC |
| SaabCare Motorsport Services | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII | 21 | Mike Bailey | Caitlin Earley | PRC |
| Allquip Australia | Ford Fiesta | 21 | Barney Hogan | Darren Grainger | Super 2000 |
| John Berne | Subaru Impreza RS | 22 | John Berne | Tony Best | PRC |
| North Oz Projects | Holden Commodore SS | 27 | Jacob Bruinsma | Lisa White | Group N |
| Hyundai Motor Company Australia | Hyundai i30 CRDi | 30 | Mick Gillett | Harvey Smith | PRC |
| Rallyschool | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII | 32 | Charlie Drake | Eoin Moynihan | PRC |
Pointscore as follows. [5]
| Pos | Driver | Tas | Forest | Coffs | SA | Qld | Victoria | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat1 | Heat2 | Heat3 | Heat1 | Heat2 | Heat1 | Heat2 | Heat1 | Heat2 | Heat1 | Heat2 | Heat3 | ||||
| 1 | Simon Evans | 15 | 34 | 15 | 34 | 34 | 40 | 41 | 40 | 41 | 20 | 21 | 40 | 20 | 395 |
| 2 | Ryan Smart | 10 | 22 | 9 | 26 | 30 | 30 | 30 | Ret | DNS | 13 | Ret | Ret | 65 | 235 |
| 3 | Mark Pedder | 9 | 26 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 7 | 18 | 11 | 15 | 30 | 75 | 235 |
| 4 | Scott Pedder | 20 | 40 | 21 | 40 | 41 | 34 | Ret | 34 | Ret | 230 | ||||
| 5 | Steven Shepheard | 7 | 20 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 26 | 9 | 22 | 26 | 9 | 7 | 18 | 50 | 226 |
| 6 | Glen Raymond | 13 | Ret | 13 | 10 | 18 | Ret | DNS | 17 | 17 | 34 | 100 | 222 | ||
| 7 | Eli Evans | 17 | 16 | 17 | 5 | 14 | 12 | Ret | 20 | 30 | 10 | 13 | 26 | 40 | 220 |
| 8 | Justin Dowel | 11 | 30 | 11 | 16 | 6 | 30 | Ret | 15 | Ret | Ret | 85 | 204 | ||
| 9 | Michael Boaden | 14 | 10 | 22 | 26 | 18 | 22 | 8 | 11 | 22 | 45 | 198 | |||
| 10 | Bruce Fullerton | 5 | 14 | 5 | 20 | 22 | 14 | 16 | 6 | 9 | 16 | 35 | 162 | ||
| 11 | Nathan Quinn | 22 | 22 | Ret | 34 | 26 | 34 | Ret | DNS | Ret | 138 | ||||
| 12 | Barry Kirk | 3 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 104 |
| 13 | Mick Gillett | 14 | 16 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 22.5 | 95.5 | |||||
| 14 | Mark Fawcett | 8 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 20 | 7 | 10 | 20 | 95 | |||||
| 15 | Simon Knowles | 4 | 12 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 10 | Ret | 14 | Ret | 8 | Ret | 87 | |
| 16 | John Berne | 16 | 18 | 10 | 12 | 5 | Ret | Ret | 25 | 86 | |||||
| 17 | Mike Bailey | 10 | 20 | 12 | Ret | Ret | 6 | Ret | 30 | 78 | |||||
| 18 | Leigh Hynes | 18 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 55 | 73 | ||||||||
| 19 | Darren Windus | 30 | 26 | 56 | |||||||||||
| 20 | Jacob Bruinsma | 4 | 4 | 12 | 17.5 | 37.5 | |||||||||
| 21 | Charlie Drake | 6 | 18 | 10 | Ret | DNS | 34 | ||||||||
| =22 | Roman Watkins | 12 | 20 | Ret | Ret | 32 | |||||||||
| =22 | Tom Wilde | 20 | 12 | 32 | |||||||||||
| 24 | Barney Hogan | 4 | 9 | 4 | 17 | ||||||||||