Trackside dust-up

By Kath Gannaway
SPECTATORS are being encouraged to purchase tickets early to ensure they don’t miss out on the action when the NGK Rally of Melbourne comes to the Yarra Valley on the weekend.
Organisers are predicting the rally will be one of the most exciting rallies staged in Australian rally history with the top four drivers preparing to battle it out for the championship on roads around Toolangi, Marysville, Donna Buang and at De Bortoli Winery.
Rally headquarters, incorporating the service park and vehicle displays, is at Yarra Glen Racecourse on 23 and 24 September and offers a great chance to see the stars of the rally – cars, drivers and the crews – up close and personal.
Just 22 points separate the top three in the championship race and with Toyota’s Simon Evans (170 points) leading team mate Neal Bates by just 16 points with privateer Dean Herridge in his Subaru third, a mere six points adrift of Bates, while Mitsubishi’s Scott Pedder remains an outside chance 38 points behind Herridge.
With 30 points on offer for each of the two heats as well as 1.5 bonus points for the driver with the most stage wins, the slightest slip up on the weekend could spell the end for any championship aspirations.
“It’s going to be an awesome round and I’ve already started getting myself into the frame of mind to race,” Simon Evans said.
“I think there will be a lot of risks taken and whoever comes out the other end intact will take the rally and probably the championship so, as is often the case in Melbourne, it’ll be a battle to the end!”
Team mate Bates is attempting to win his fourth national championship.
“It’s the last rally of the year so you have got to go as hard and fast as you can,” the veteran rally driver said.
“We’d love to get a Toyota one-two in the championship but first and foremost I’ll be pushing for the win and Dean is right behind us so it’ll be an extremely tough and close rally.”
The 2006 NGK Rally of Melbourne will start at Docklands on 22 September.