The Activ RallySport pairing of Justin Dowel and Matt Lee head into the 2010 Australian Rally Championship (ARC) with podium places as their goal.
After finishing the 2009 season with a career best fourth outright in the national championship, Dowel and Lee are intent on improving on their results over the six rounds of this year’s series.
This year’s ARC sees the introduction of a control Kumho tyre for all competitors, that will take some getting used to, but Dowel doesn’t see that as being a major stumbling block.
“The new Kumho tyre will be very different to what we have used in the past, however we have already done some testing on them and they work well,” Dowel said.
“It’s yet to be determined if the new tyres last as long and perform as well as the tyres we used in 2009, but as every ARC competitor is in the same position as us, it will be interesting to see who adapts the quickest.”
Gearbox problems hampered the team in Rally Tasmania last year, restricting Dowel to eighth place, but with a good set of pacenotes and a successful test day under his belt, the Melbourne businessman is eagerly awaiting the first stage on Friday afternoon.
“With the experience we’ve gained from contesting the ARC over the last couple of years I think we’re well placed to make a push for podium finishes this year.
“With a tried a tested Lancer Evo IX, reliability shouldn’t be a problem and we should be in a position to attack hard right from the very first stage.”
Co-driver Matt Lee believes team stability will also play a part in reaching their goals in 2010.
“We start this season with the same car and the same team as we had last year, which should be really beneficial,” he said.
“Many of our rivals have new cars or are returning to the sport after being out of the ARC for some time, so hopefully that will work to our advantage.
“The key to a successful season is consistency and we’re aiming to start the year well with a great result in Tasmania this weekend.”
After successful test season on a closed road stage near Burnie on Thursday morning, Dowel and Lee are happy with the set-up of the team’s Lancer.
“We’ve made some suspension changes which we tested and everything was working well,” Dowel added.
“I think we have a great package heading into the event, and I can’t wait for the first stage to get under way and for the season to begin.”
The 2010 Australian Rally Championship visits Tasmania, Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria with six events over nine months. The final round of the season is the team’s home event, Rally Victoria, in November.
2010 Australian Rally Championship calendar
Rally Tasmania, February 26-28
Forest Rally (WA), April 16-18
Coffs Coast Rally (NSW), May 15-16
Rally South Australia, June 26-27
Rally Queensland, July 31-August 1
Rally Victoria, November 13