Category Archives: Car Preparation

Harry Bates second at 2016 Quit Forest Rally, Neal wins Classic Challenge

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Harry_2-1Harry Bates has surprised his more experienced rivals by taking Heat One honours at the Quit Forest Rally and coming second overall after a countback at round one of the 2016 Kumho Tyre Australian Rally Championship (ARC), in Busselton, Western Australia.

Driving a Neal Bates Motorsport Toyota Corolla S2000, Bates and co-driver John McCarthy held off multiple ARC champion, Simon Evans, to win Heat One by just 1.1 seconds.

Both Bates and Evans finished the overall event with the same points based on their positions in both Heat One and Heat Two, however, the bonus point given to Evans for recording the most stage wins during the event was enough to hand them the event victory.

“Simon and I will leave here on a similar amount of points, which for me is obviously still beyond what I expected coming into the weekend, so I think although I’m disappointed I’m not a bit closer to him today and that we couldn’t get that top spot but we still need to be happy with the weekend,” Bates said.

Bates admitted he was surprised with the Heat One win and feared he’d given it away when he braked too late on a corner in SS7, running wide off the. Fortunately for him, he was able to continue and managed to hold off the hard-charging Evans.

Keeping event honours in the family, Harry Bates’ father, Neal, co-driven by Coral Taylor, won the Australian Classic Challenge by over 5 minutes on both days of the rally.Neal_1

The next round of the ARC is on home ground for Harry and Neal – round two is the National Capital Rally, to be held in Canberra 27-29 May 2016.

Drivers to Compete for $125,000 in Toyota 86 Racing Series

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Toyota 86 race car from the back

Toyota 86 race car from the back

Toyota has announced a generous prize pool of $125,000 for the first year of its grassroots Toyota 86 Racing Series.

The series, to be run at selected V8 Supercars events from 2016, will provide $50,000 cash for the series winner plus a $20,000 international VIP experience. Second place in the 2016 series will attract $30,000 cash while the third place-getter will receive $15,000.

An additional driver who finishes outside the top three and is judged a “rising star” will win an entry to a round of New Zealand’s Toyota Finance 86 championship, including flights and accommodation.

The Australian series is expected to start in May with other rounds scheduled for Sydney Motor Sport Park (August), Sandown (September), Bathurst (October) and Sydney Olympic Park (November).

Toyota Australia executive director sales and marketing Tony Cramb said the Toyota 86 Racing Series is an affordable, grassroots category designed to discover new motorsport talent.

Mr Cramb said the stellar careers of people like five-time Australian Touring Car champion and six-time Bathurst winner Mark Skaife and two-time Bathurst winner Tony Longhurst had begun with success in a one-make series.

“The Toyota 86 Racing Series is a great way for young amateur drivers to advance their careers, competing against and learning from professional drivers – all under the gaze of motorsport decision-makers and team owners,” Mr Cramb said.

“Drivers will also perform in front of substantial race-day crowds and large TV and internet broadcast audiences, which should assist them in gaining sponsors.

“The Toyota 86 Racing Series is the most cost-effective road to competing in Australia’s premier motorsport weekend at Bathurst in October.

“The front-engine, rear-drive 86 is ideally suited to close racing due to its superb handling and expected maximum speeds down Conrod Straight of about 230km/h.

“An entry fee of just $1,500 per round is easily the lowest amount for any mainstream national series, which reflects our desire to ensure the Toyota 86 Racing Series is affordable for anyone with the passion and talent to compete.

The grid at each round will accommodate a maximum of 32 cars, including up to five cars driven by professional drivers or other guests nominated by Toyota. The nominated drivers will not be eligible for points or prize money.

Competition will generally include three 20-minute races – one on the Saturday and two on the Sunday with grids determined by two practice sessions and a qualifying stage.

Draft sporting and technical regulations for the series have been issued by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS).

They provide details of control specifications including engine ECU, tyres, exhaust, brakes, suspension, roll cage and aero kit.

Toyota 86 race car from the front

Toyota 86 race car from the front

Neal Bates Motorsport developed the control specifications with a focus on safety and reliability while keeping costs as low as possible. Category management is by AirTime Autosport, run by motorsport identity Neil Crompton.

The Toyota 86 has been Australia’s best-selling sports car since its launch in 2012 and has now passed 15,000 sales on the local market.

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Bates and Taylor take win in Western Australia

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Neal and Coral celebrate their win

Neal, Coral and the NBM crew celebrate the win in Western Australia.

Neal Bates and Coral Taylor have won the Classic section of the Australian Rally Championship (ARC) at the Quit Forest Rally in Western Australia.

In a dominant display the duo raced to victory over the notorious WA gravel, posting times better than those recorded by many of the ARC competitors – including an outright win on Friday’s super special stage.

The four-time national champions currently lead the Classic Championship with a perfect score of 81, which includes a bonus point.

Neal Bates was pleased with his race weekend on the Forest Rally track. “It’s a very tough rally. It’s incredibly slippery with a lot of very loose gravel and it’s very technical, but we really enjoyed it,” Bates said.

Comparing times with the ARC round, the pair’s results over the race weekend would have placed them second outright in Heat One on Saturday, fourth outright in Heat Two on Sunday and third outright overall.

“In the super special we managed to be fastest outright in front of everyone, which was satisfying,” Bates said. “In some of the other stages we were very close which is pretty good for a 30-year-old car. The Celica ran faultlessly the whole weekend.”

Bates and Taylor have won every classic series title they have entered since 2012, something Bates attributes to a great team and the strength of his 3SGE-powered RA40 Toyota Celica.

“We have a great team of people and a car that is reliable and strong. I have an incredibly good navigator and the driver’s alright, too.”

While a convincing victory, the weekend’s racing wasn’t without fault. “We would have won heat one outright, except that I stalled the car in the last stage by accidentally flipping the ignition switch off by mistake,” Bates said.

“I guess that’s what happens when you get old,” he joked.

The near identical sister car to Bates’ RA40, driven by Clay Badenoch and Andrew Dunbar and prepared by Bates Motorsport, claimed second place in the Classic section at the WA rally.

Bates and Taylor will continue their Classic Championship campaign in the RA40 in mid-May on home turf, at the National Capital Rally in Canberra.

Bates and Taylor secure third successive Classic title

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Neal Bates and Coral Taylor sealed their third successive title in the Classic section of the Australian Rally Championship after victory at Rally Australia.

They put on a dominant display from start to finish, winning every stage of the event in their 1980 Toyota Celica RA40, the rally held around the northern NSW town of Coffs Harbour.

The victory meant the duo closed out the 2014 Classic Series, part of the Australian Rally Championship, with one round of the season remaining.

Bates and Taylor have won every classic series title they have entered since 2012, which Neal said was the result of his crew’s hard work and dedication.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to win again and I’m really grateful to the team for the way they prepared the car and set up our service area so professionally, even when the conditions weren’t that helpful,” Bates said. “Once again the car was brilliant to drive all weekend and stood up to some pretty hard punishment, including a lot of big jumps on day one.”

“Rally Australia is a great event to be involved and has a really good buzz because all the World Rally Championship teams are here.”

Taylor said she was delighted to clinch the championship and record another strong victory after overcoming a weekend of mixed conditions. “It’s a great feeling to do it again and we always love competing up here in Coffs Harbour, where we take on some of the best and most satisfying rally roads in the country,” she said.

“We had a bit of everything with the conditions. There was a lot of rain in the region before the event which made the test day very slippery, and then periods of blue skies and lots of dust. We then had another downpour on Friday night which turned the service park into a quagmire.”

“However, the team did a fantastic job giving us such a fast car and we were really pleased to put on a good show in front of so many enthusiastic spectators who seemed to really enjoy the international flavour of the event,” Taylor said.

Look for the Neal Bates Motorsport Celica at the season-ending Rally Victoria on November 14 and 15.