Lewis Bates and Anthony McLoughlin won the Middle of Everywhere Gippsland Rally, marking the pair’s maiden RSEA Safety Motorsport Australia Rally Championship (ARC) round victory.

A consistent performance from the Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia pairing saw them claim victory by two-and-a-half minutes in the 13-stage rally, ahead of Troy Dowel/Bernie Webb and Max McRae/Mac Kierans, who recorded their first ever ARC podiums.

Lewis Bates/McLoughlin led the rally after eight stages, from McRae/Kieran and Dowel/Webb in what proved to be a day of attrition, with a broken prop shaft taking Harry Bates/John McCarthy from the lead on Stage 6.

The championship leaders, who will make their FIA World Rally Championship debut at Rally New Zealand next month, responded to the mechanical drama with five stage wins on Sunday, however it wasn’t enough, with the duo eventually finishing 10th outright.

Lewis Bates/McLoughlin held off the charge and managed to remain on top of the timesheets to claim a breakthrough victory.

“It was a bit frightening, to be honest with you both Anthony [McLoughlin] and I were as relaxed as we could be and just making sure everything was running smoothly,” said Lewis Bates.

“The strategy for Anthony and I this morning was to try and get a good rhythm in the first two stages, I think we did a pretty good job of that, we extended our lead and then just sort had to sit on that this afternoon.

“It’s nice to get a good result for the team, it’s unfortunate that Harry [Bates] and John [McCarthy] didn’t have much luck yesterday [Saturday] but I’m glad we could get the victory for the team, as well as getting mine and Anthony’s first victory.”

McRae, who has set his sights on a 2023 Junior World Rally Championship campaign, described his podium as a breakthrough result.

“It’s cool to be on the podium for the outright ARC, I didn’t think it’d happen so soon,” he said.

“It clicked pretty early on and went hard on the first four flowing stages and then just brought it out to the next stages.

“It’s great to just be on the podium, so I’m happy.

“I have definitely grown as a driver in terms of seat time and experience and pace note making and commitment, it has all been a massive step. Especially going with faster thinking and faster driving in a faster car.”

Guy Tyler and Zayne Admiraal, claimed victory in the ARC 2WD Cup, ahead of Dean Ridge and Phillip Bonser, and James Dimmock and Paul Bennett, who also won the ARC Junior Cup.

The ARC continues with the Adelaide Hills Rally on October 21-23.