Australia’s top female rally driver Molly Taylor will contest her home FIA World Rally Championship event when the Coates Hire Rally Australia hits the Coffs Coast in September.
Taking a break from her European campaign, Taylor, 24, will drive a Ford Fiesta R2 in the WRC3 category for Canberra team Innate Motorsport.
“Competing on my home round of the WRC has always been a goal of mine. It’s like a local race car driver being offered a drive at Bathurst – you don’t say no.
“The team has proven they can prepare two reliable cars and they have the support structures in place to give us a serious chance to win the WRC 3 category.”
Taylor’s entry will add a major attraction to the event which hits Aussie shores on 12-15 September.
The Innate Motorsport team will also see Canberra’s Adrian Coppin contest the event in the M-Sport factory built Fiesta R2.
“The idea has been under discussion since my visit to M-Sport (UK makers of the Ford rally car) last year and when I bought our second car for the ARC, we had the opportunity to make it happen,” Coppin said.
“Molly is very talented and it will be great to learn from her as we prepare for Rally Australia and for her Australian fans and supporters to see her in action.
“We’ll both be trying hard to win the WRC 3 category.”
Coates Hire Rally Australia Event Manager David Catchpole said that although entries were not officially open yet, it was exciting to know Molly Taylor and Adrian Coppin would be competing.
“It is great news for Rally Australia to have secured the first two Australian entries in our round of the WRC,” he said.
“I hope more crews with eligible cars follow this team’s lead and come forward and show the world how strong our sport is.”
Stay tuned to Speedcafe.com for all your Australian and World Rally news as we build up to Coates Hire Rally Australia in September.
