Brendan Reeves has come back from gearbox issues on the opening leg to take the second heat and overall honours at the National Capital Rally in Canberra.
Reeves put championship leader and Heat 1 winner Simon Evans under pressure early and the multiple Australian champion made a mistake going wide and putting his Subaru in a ditch. From that point Reeves was never headed to win by over a minute.
Reeves and his team replaced their regular ‘dog’ gearbox for a standard one, courtesy of Tasmanian competitor Craig Brookes. Despite the fact that Reeves needed to change his driving style as a result (left foot braking isn’t possible with a standard gearbox), it proved no hardship for Reeves who dominated the day’s competition.
The rally was Reeves and Rhianon Gelsomino’s first on home soil since November 2014 and it is Reeves’ first competitive drive since October 2015.
“It’s a fantastic feeling to win at Canberra again,” said Reeves, who won the event in 2014.
“We had a tough day yesterday but hung in there and put ourselves in a good position. Everything ran perfectly for us today and I felt really comfortable in the car, so to win the heat and the overall event is amazing.”
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Nathan Quinn enjoyed a solid weekend to finish second in the heat and also the runner-up for the weekend overall.
Harry Bates coming home third in the heat.
Evans charged back in the afternoon stages to claim third for the weekend, just ahead of Molly Taylor and Tom Wilde who finished on equal fourth overall.
VIDEO: Heat 2 National Capital Rally
HEAT 2 : National Capital Rally
| Pos | No | Crew | Vehicle | Time/Gap |
| 1 | 6 | REEVES GELSOMINO |
Subaru Impreza WRX STi Spec C |
1:15:54.1 |
| 2 | 2 | QUINN CALDER |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
+1:06.5 |
| 3 | 5 | BATES McCARTHY |
Toyota Corolla S2000 |
+1:44.2 |
| 4 | 13 | TAYLOR HAYES |
Subaru Impreza WRX STi |
+2:01.2 |
| 5 | 10 | WILDE HILL |
Subaru Impreza WRX STi |
+2:01.8 |
| 6 | 9 | PATTON WEBB |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X |
+4:41.3 |
| 7 | 8 | PEDDER MOSCATT |
Peugeot 208 Maxi |
+5:37.0 |
| 8 | 7 | HARDING THORNBURN |
Subaru Impreza WRX STi Spec C |
+5:47.5 |
| 9 | 21 | CLARKE PRESTON |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
+9:34.7 |
| 10 | 3 | EVANS SEARCY |
Subaru Imprexa WRX |
+15:43.1 |
STANDINGS
| Pos | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Simon Evans | 138 |
| 2 | Harry Bates | 134 |
| 3 | Molly Taylor | 116 |
| 4 | Tom Wilde | 104 |
| 5 | Justin Dowell | 90 |
| 6 | Mark Pedder | 88 |
| 7 | Chris Higgs | 76 |
| 8 | Adrian Coppin | 52 |
| 9 | Brad Markovic | 26 |
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