Demonstrating the popularity of the Wellington Dam forest roads, the 2012 Experts Cup Rally had a good field. 35 teams from the State Rally Championship (WARC) and 9 teams from the Clubman Rally Series (Clubman Cup) traveled to Collie in the southwestern states for round 3 of the respective championships. The Experts Cup was again a full pace rally and used 4 special stages which were repeated for a total competitive distance of just over 115km.

Much earlier because I lined up at the first time control, the organizers had a lot of work ahead of them. Logging operations in the forest, coupled with some severe storms in the area, had made some of the marked paths for the stages literally impassable. Fallen trees and other debris had to be quickly cleared by organizers and volunteers to allow the route to be ready for the start of reconnaissance on Saturday morning.

The rally started as planned in mid-afternoon in dry weather. Leading the field was Lee McIlroy/Ash Ridden in his Spec C WRX. Being the first because on the way is usually a disadvantage. The first couple of cars act as a road sweeper, removing loose top layer from the surface for subsequent cars, and also provide braking guidance and corner lines. In this case, McIlroy/Ridden drove well in the first two stages despite road position, posting stage times in the top 3.

In SS2, Gavin Morgan/Chris Parish were the first to duel on the slippery clay surface. The pair were just outside the top 3 on leg one and were running well in their Spec C WRX when an altercation with the scenery damaged the Subaru too much to continue. The retirement continued a run of bad luck for the team who had just cured an electrical gremlin that had forced retirement on two previous rallies.

SS2 also caused complaints from brothers Mark and Steve Davies. The boys lost 3rd gear on stage two before their WRX transmission stuck in 2nd gear on SS3 and forced an early retirement. The duo were understandably despondent after strong results at the Forest and Donnelly rallies earlier this year. Brett Tolomei and Owain Thomas also retired in SS2 when their Mazda 323 Familia succumbed to mechanical problems.

When the crews returned for the first service, it was apparent that the loose conditions were already showing scars on some cars. Even seasoned competitors had struggled to hold on in places. McIlroy/Ridden were going to find out just how loose the roads were in SS3. On a left turn, the pair slid slightly into a window and jammed the car on a small stump. Despite a great effort, the car could not be recovered and they both knew their career was over. Anthony Chudleigh/Matthew Hare (Hyundai Excel) found the stage in SS3, retiring with damaged front suspension and Lea Welch/Justin Smith retired in SS4 with a gearbox problem in her V8 Ford Falcon.

Although the weather had been dry all day, it was not hot. As the day progressed into late afternoon and early evening, the temperature dropped rapidly. The weather definitely favored the turbocharged cars and tire wear was not a major issue either.

SS6 would see the end of the Ford/Holden V8 battle with zero. Kiel Douglas/Anthony Paynter (Holden Commodore) found the same spot on the same corner that McIlroy/Ridden had found earlier. This time, however, the orange Commodore would go straight off the road and find the stump, causing some suspension damage and recall. SS6 also saw the retirement of Rainer Offermann/Tim Lennon. The team had a brush with the landscape in SS5 and in SS6 the lights on their WRX were not up to the challenge of the night stages which forced them to retire.

The rally had been eventful for many competitors, some of whom had thrown everything in the event to simply finish. Carlos Deltoro/Darren Wiese had front suspension problems for most of the rally which kept their service crew entertained and Julian Wright/Niall Doherty seemed to be struggling in their Datsun 1200. Returning after a long break from racing, Duncan Leighton with Marc Louden alongside pulled off some impressive midship panel damage in their Ford MK1, and John Farrell/Chris Randell also found the stage in their WRX.

In the Expert cup a new time arrangement was tested in parallel to the traditional system. Through the use of transponders fitted to each car, a series of receivers throughout the stages and in the service park allowed for faster collection of stage times. The top ten battle-weary were inside.

John Clinton/Shaun Brennan took their Lancer Evo 9 to 10th place behind Dylan King/Andrew Hannigan (Ford) in 9th place. A big battle with King/Hannigan resulted in Blair Pugh/Paul Helm taking 1st 2WD and 8th in their Ford. Steve Oxley/Michael Wood took his current Impreza STI to seventh behind Garry Whittle/Ryan Doe (WRX) in sixth. Before the rally started, Whittle/Doe were unsure if they could start the event with a suspected coolant leak. Fortunately, their service team fixed the issue and allowed the pair to compete and finish in the top 10. John O’Dowd/Ben Searcy (Spec C WRX) provided another steady push to take fifth place and add to their WARC points run. Alex Stone/Hanna Drury (WRX) led most of the rally. In SS7 a faulty turbo intervened and dropped them from 1st to 4th. The finish allowed enough points to hold a WARC lead. Third place went to Doug Tostevin and Tammy Adams in their WRX. The pair had been consistent within the top 6 stage times all day and were the only team to win an Expert Cup trophy in 2012. Travis White/Greg Flood had their own struggles to overcome during the rally. The pair had it all figured out on the final stage, setting the fastest time and taking their PWRC-spec Lancer Evo 9 to second place. The gap between second and third place was very narrow at just 6 seconds. Leigh Hynes/Stuart Percival used their “charge hard early” strategy to try to gain an advantage. A spin in SS2 and a busy day for the service team showed that their pace under the conditions was on the limit. With Stone/Drury out of contention for the last two stages, Hynes/Percival could ease the pace enough to allow a straight run to the finish and the 1st place trophy.