2009 Australian Rally Championship
Introduction The '''2009 Australian Rally Championship''' season is the 42nd season in the history of the competition.It is also the first since the mid-1980s to take place with no significant manufacturer support after Toyota withdrew its support of the Bates Motor Sport rally team which has competed as Toyota Team Australia since the early 1990s. Toyota did fund the team's final appearance at the tarmac Rally Tasmania, but after that Neal Bates had to find other sources of funding for his Corolla. Simon Evans left the team, taking up the reins of a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX under the banner of his own personal building business. Despite this setback, Evans and his wife Sue regained the title they had lost the previous year to their now former boss. Bates could only manage third in the title, finishing behind one of the Corollas he had previously built to the Group N+ regulations, driven by an ever-consistent Glen Raymond. Evans younger brother Eli slipped to fourth in the standings after beating Simon into second position last year.
The Rallies The 2009 season featured six rallies, the first five of which contribute to the drivers' title. The sixth, the newly reinstated Rally Australia, will contribute only to the manufacturers standings. Round Rally Date 1 Rally Tasmania 13–15 February 2 Rally of Canberra 7–8 March 3 Quit Forest Rally 3–5 April 4 Rally Queensland 9–10 May 5 Sprints Auto Parts Rally SA 31 July – 2 August 6 Repco Rally Australia 3–6 September
Teams & Drivers The following are the competitors from the 2009 ARC season. Team Manufacturer Number Driver Co-driver ClassBates Motor SportToyota1 Neal Bates Coral Taylor Super 20003 Simon Evans Sue Evans Super 2000 Tankformers Subaru2 Eli Evans Chris Murphy Group N Simons Builders Mitsubishi3 Simon Evans Sue Evans Group N Spencer Lowndes Mitsubishi4 Spencer Lowndes Chris Randell Group N  Raymond Partner Accounting Toyota5 Glen Raymond Matt Raymond Group N P Maximum Motorsport Subaru6 Dean Herridge Glen Weston Group N Activ Rallysport Mitsubishi7 Justin Dowel Matt Lee PRC Les Walkden Rallying Subaru8 Brendan Reeves Rhianon Smyth Group N Wauchope Motors Subaru9 Michael Boaden Helen Cheers PRC Kumhyo Tyres Subaru10 Tony Sullens Julia Barkley PRC OzTec Suspension Mitsubishi11 Steven Shepheard John McCarthy PRC Kiplings Bakery Mitsubishi12 Brett Kipling Darren Masters PRC Nathan Quinn Mitsubishi12 Nathan Quinn David Green Group N Total Motorsport Subaru12 Craig Brooks Tony Jackson Group N Matt van Tuinen Subaru14 Matt van Tuinen Daniel Wilson PRC Fullerton Financial Services Mitsubishi16 Bruce Fullerton Hugh Reardon-Smith PRC19 Ryan Smart Rebecca Smart Allquip Australia Ford17 Barney Hogan Darren Grainger Group N Marlin Australia Subaru24 John Murray Senior Bob Selby-Wood PRC Barry Kirk Rallying MazdaMitsubishi32 Barry Kirk Lisa Reed White
Drivers Championship  Pos Driver Team Car Tasmania Canberra Forest Qld RallySA Total Heat1 Heat2 Heat3 Heat1 Heat2 Heat1 Heat2 Heat1 Heat2 Heat1 Heat2 1 Simon Evans Bates Motor Sport Simon's Builders Toyota Corolla S2000 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 17 34 20 40 41 34 40 41 60 52.5 '''379.5''' 2 Glen Raymond Raymond Partner Accountants Toyota Corolla Sportivo 11 26 11 30 26 40 30 34 34 51 45 '''338''' 3 Neal Bates Bates Motor Sport Toyota Corolla S2000 20 40 18 34 34 12 41 30 31 12 '''272''' 4 Eli Evans Tankformers Subaru Impreza WRX 15 30 15 34 22 26 45 60 '''247''' 5 Justin Dowel Activ Rallysport Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 8 14 8 26 30 26 20 18 39 24 '''213''' 6 Steven Shepheard OzTec Suspension Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 12 22 18 18 16 14 30 39 '''169''' 7 Ryan Smart Fullerton Financial Services Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI 22 20 22 22 33 27 '''146''' 8 Brett Kipling Kipling's Bakery Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 20 20 20 27 33 '''120''' 9 Simon Knowles Speedie Contractors Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI 16 16 12 12 10.5 21 '''87.5''' 10 John Berne Beecroft Dental Centre Subaru Impreza RS 16 10 9 9 21 18 '''83''' 11 Dean Herridge Maximum Motorsport Subaru Impreza WRX 9 20 9 10 26 '''74''' 12 Brendan Reeves Les Walkden Rallying Subaru Impreza WRX 13 22 10 7 20 '''72''' 13 Matt van Tuinen Matt van Tuinen Subaru Impreza WRX 18 16 7.5 30 '''71.5''' 14 Cameron Sluce Cameron Sluce Subaru Impreza RS 18 12 10 10 '''50''' 15 Barry Kirk Barry Kirk Rallying Mazda RX-7 Mitsubishi Mirage 6 6 7 15 12 '''46''' 16 Luke Page Rally Development Racing Hyundai Excel 8 18 15 '''41''' 17 Nathan Quinn Nathan Quinn Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 14 26 20 '''40''' 18 Michael Boaden Wauchope Motors Subaru Impreza WRX 22 18 '''40''' 19 Spencer Lowndes Spencer Lowndes Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 10 16 13 '''39''' 20 Richard HOughton Houghton Team Racing Subaru Impreza WRX 14 14 5 '''33''' 21 John V. Murray Marlin Australia Subaru Impreza WRX 8 9 13.5 '''30.5''' 22 Darren Windus Groundforce Truck Rentals Toyota Corolla S2000 30 '''30''' 23 Tony Sullens Kumho Tyres Subaru Impreza WRX 5 18 7 '''30''' 24 Barney Hogan Allquip Australia Ford Fiesta 6 13.5 10.5 '''30''' 25 Jack Flanagan Bisous Nissan Sunny 14 14 '''28''' 26 Bruce Fullerton Fullerton Financial Services Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI 24 '''24''' 27 Charlie Drake Claddagh Civil Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII 16 '''16''' 28 Craig Brooks Total Motorsport Subaru Impreza WRX 7 '''7'''
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