Sheer consistency helped the Pedders Rally Team duo to overall victory in Western Australia despite finishing third in Heat 2 on Sunday.
Pedder and Macneall won Saturday’s Heat 1 despite not winning a stage.
The pair then stormed out to a 10-second lead on Sunday after three stage wins, before a puncture cost them 1m30s, dropping them to fourth.
Pedder rallied back on Sunday afternoon to claw back one spot and finish the day third, enough to clinch the outright victory.
“It’s one of those sports where, when you think you can just cruise home and you’re looking pretty handy, something happens,” said Pedder.
“We got a flat tyre on the second or third corner into the long stage, and I don’t think I’ve ever driven so fast on a flat tyre before.
“We knew we probably needed to finish third or fourth today, but the car’s not sounding fantastically healthy at the moment.
“There are a few noises in there, so it’s going to need some work before Narooma after driving that far on a flat tire.
“But it’s great to be here. Full credit to the Maximum Motorsport team because they’ve done a lot of work.
“It’s also great to become the oldest Australian Rally Championship winner of all time, so that’s pretty cool.
“It’s all about maximising points and never giving up. This sport is all about strategy, and Glenn and the guys did a fantastic job today telling me how fast to go – not what to do.”
Second place on both days was enough for Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Lewis Bates and Anthony McLoughlin to claim second overall, capping off their weekend with a third Power Stage win for the season.
TGR teammates Harry Bates and Coral Taylor were unable to replicate their Queensland dominance from Round 1, coming home in third position outright.
Harry and Taylor benefitted directly from the leader’s puncture, claiming a comfortable stage win.
The pair won Heat 2 by 17 seconds over Lewis and McLoughlin, which was enough for third place overall.
Toby Price and Ben Searcy swept the weekend in the Subaru WRX Challenge, with Price claiming his best outright finish since his ARC debut last year, finishing in fourth place outright.
A third place in Heat 1 and a DNF in Heat 2 saw Alex Rullo and James Marquet finish in eighth place overall in their series return.
Rullo’s father Peter and co-driver Brad Jones finished 13th overall after a seventh place on Saturday and a DNF on Sunday.
Swedish stars Tom Kristenssen and Andreas Johansson finished equal 13th with Rullo senior and Jones.
The pair did not finish Heat 1, but salvaged crucial points with seventh place in Heat 2 in their ARC return.
The EROAD Australian Rally Championship heads east for Round 3 with the Narooma Forest Rally on the NSW south coast from June 26-28.
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