By PETER DOUGLAS
FERNTREE Gully businessman Craig Dean last weekend finished first in class, and third outright, in the second round of the 2015 Australian Tarmac RallyChampionship at Lake Mountain.
Dean and his co-driver, Jenny Cole, brought their 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 home less than a minute behind second-place getters, Clinton Arentz (Queensland) and his dual Australian RallyChampion co-driver Dale Moscatt (NSW) in their 2009 Mitsubishi Evo X.
The event in Victoria’s Yarra Ranges National Park was run in perfect conditions over the weekend (20-22March).
The route was made up of 16 closed road special stages, run from Marysville to Cumberland Junction (on the Warburton/Woods Point Road), as well as up and down the access road between Marysville and the summit of Lake Mountain.
South Australian couple, Tristan and Kate Catford, and their 2006 Mitsubishi Evo IX finished ahead of Arentz and Moscatt, with all three also taking victory in their respective classes.
Dean was enthusiastic about his result, which was a surprise to some competitors.
The big Mustang is not nearly as nimble around the tight, twisty mountain roads as its smaller four-wheel-drive rivals.
“Sunday was a lot better for us than Saturday because the stages were longer, which gave us a chance to really settle into the car,” Dean said.
“Once you feel comfortable, you can go really hard.
“This car has plenty of power but it takes a bit to pull it up because it is so heavy.
“It’s a car you have to drive, but it’s also incredibly forgiving and it worked really well – we had a trouble-free run, thanks to all the hard work by our crew.”
Dean said the event was enjoyable.
“The roads were great, the car was great and the crew was great,” he said.
“I have to say my co-driver Jenny was fantastic.
“And I think I did an okay kind of job aside from taking a bit of a wrong turn at one point – I really must learn the difference between my lefts and rights.”
All three of the leading crews are registered for the four events that will make up this year’s ATRC, so their battle will continue at the next round that, due to the winter ski season fast approaching, is not until the weekend of 3-4 October (Great Tarmac Rally).
The 2015 ‘grand final’ (Snowy River Sprint) will be run in the hills above Lakes Entrance in East Gippsland on 5-6 December.
