Clayton Hoy has pulled off a massive upset for the second time in his career after claiming the 2019 Accent Benchtops Working Dog Rally.
All images from CH Images. Words from PR. Results
Right from the get go, Hoy and Stean were in no mood to mess around, winning the first three stages over Brinkman and Shimmon to win the first section by 16 seconds
Behind the wheel of another Mitsubishi Evo, Brinkman and Smith managed to finish ahead of Hoy and Stean in the final two stages, but it wasn’t enough as the latter pair showed enough pace to defend their position and carry out the incredible victory.
It’s the second time within a year that Hoy has pulled off a performance like this, taking out the 2018 Phoenix Homes Queensland Yowie Country Rally in December over Brinkman and Smith.
With the event running as both a round in the MTA CAMS New South Wales Rally Championship and the P3 Solutions CAMS Queensland Rally Championship (QRC), a thrilled Hoy was a little surprised to come away with victory in both championships.
Like Hoy and Stean, Brinkman and Smith were registered in both championships and finished as runner-up for both, while Shimmon and Gleeson rounded out the podium on the New South Wales side.
New South Wales championship leaders Glen Raymond and Kate Catford pulled off a gallant sixth place in a different looking car, the duo behind the wheel of a borrowed Subaru Legacy, after a bad crash in Batemans Bay.
Also taking place in the Gold Coast Tweed Motorsporting Club run event was the East Coast Classic rally series, which had an impressive 49 crews competing throughout the weekend.
“The crews were delighted by the welcome they received from the people of the Bonalbo region and were very impressed by the Showground being used as the Service Park for the rally,” Sosimenko said.