Over 60 entries have so far been received for the 2020 AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay, just two days after entries were officially opened by the Eurobodalla Shire Council Mayor, Liz Innes.
The event has a maximum field of 90 and with many outright contenders on the list, the rally is going to be a spectacular opening to the rally season for 2020.
With the COVID-19 Pandemic forcing event organisers to cancel their events earlier in the season, the AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay will be the first opportunity rally teams will have to get their cars back into the forest.
Tony Sullens and Kaylie Newel in the Citroen DS3
The rally is the first round of the MTA NSW Rally Championship and the ACT Regional Rally Series, however there are also many Australian Rally Championship teams using the event as a test before their first championship round gets underway later in the year.
The list of outright contenders is headed by the Factory Toyota team of brothers and team-mates Harry and Lewis Bates in a Toyota Yaris AP4.
Nathan Quinn is a former Australian Rally Champion and the 2019 East Coast Classic Rally Series winner. He will be lining up to take on the Toyota Team in a Lancer EVO 10 and with his recent win at the Alpine Rally late last year, he is one of the favourites to win.
Another contender for outright victory is Richie Dalton and Dale Moscatt in a Ford Fiesta G4. The pairing from Sydney have won the event for the past two years and are looking to make it three in a row.
In the MTA NSW Rally Championship, Tom Clarke and Ryan Preston in a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO are favourites, but they will have last years two-wheel drive champions, Tony Sullens and Kaylie Newell snapping at their heels in a Citroen DS3.
Darren Windus at Last Years Rally of the Bay
The Activ Rallysport Team from Melbourne is sending a contingent of drivers including JJ Hatton and Troy Dowell, both driving Hyundai i20 G4’s. They will be joined by father and son Darren and Arron Windus, who will both be driving in Subaru WRX’s.
Classic rally fans are also in for a treat with the welcome return of Tom Dermody in a Ford Escort RS1800, Clay Badenoch in a Toyota Celica RA40 and Mal Keough in an Audi Quattro S1 set to headline the East Coast Classic Rally Series.
The 2020 AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay will take place in the Forests surrounding Batemans Bay on the NSW South Coast on the 4th of July. A full unseeded list of the current teams entered follows.
1 Taylor Gill / Peter Harris - Subaru WRX 1999
2 Bethany Cullen / Mel Mcminn - Mitsubishi Evolution 6.5
3 Tony Sullens / Kaylie Newell - Citroen DS3
4 Graham Wallis / Brian Ward - Peugeot 309 GTI
5 Mitch Garrad / Taylah Murphy - Hyundai Excel
6 Chris Higgs / Daymon Nicoli - Mitsubishi Evo 6
7 Michael Stewart / Matthew Portus - Subaru WRX STI
8 Riley Walters / Jeffery Williamson - Subaru WRX
9 Adrian Stratford / Kain Manning - Ford Fiesta
10 Andrew Carrigan / Larisa Biggar - Mitsubishi Magna
11 Arron Windus / Arron Windus - Subaru Wrx Sti Gc8
12 Ben Vanzyl / Nadine Bucher - Hyundai Excel
13 Michael Ward / John Fraser - Toyota Corolla TE37 Levin
14 Brian O Neill / TBA - Ford Escort 1978
15 Chris Stilling / TBA - Datsun Stanza
16 Brian Newton / Ryan Price - Honda EG6
17 Tristan Carrigan / Neill Woolley - Alfa Romeo 147
18 Craig Jarvie / Aidan O'halloran - Holden Commodore
19 JJ Hatton / Nathan Long - Hyundai i20
20 Phil Thomas / Phil Thomas - Ford Escort Mk2
21 Mark Wills / Kam Baker - Subaru WRX STI
22 Matthew Ruggles / Matthew Ruggles - Triumph TR7 V8
23 Clay Badenoch / TBA - Toyota RA40
24 Andrew Penny / Rhys Llewylln - Subaru Impreza
25 Nathan Quinn / Ray Winwood-Smith - Mitsubishi EVO X
26 Troy Dowel / Bernie Webb - Hyundai I20
27 Veronica Stack / Jason Browne - Hyundai Getz
28 Mal Keough / Andrew (Pip) Bennett - Audi Quattro S1
29 Tim Joass / Peter Joass - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 2
30 Paul Brennan / Paul Bailey - Subaru Legacy RS
31 Ron Moore / Jo Moore - Mitsubishi Evolution VI
32 Charlie Drake / Lachlan Drake - Mitsubishi EVO
33 Dean Mullen / Paddy Kelly - Hyundai Excel
34 Ryan Williams / Brad Jones - Mitsubishi Mirage
35 Ron Mckinnon / Steve Mckinnon - Lancer LA
36 Joel Wald / Tony Robinson - Datsun Stanza
37 Harry Bates / John Mccarthy - Toyota Yaris AP4
38 Lewis Bates / Anthony Mcloughlin - Toyota Yaris AP4
39 Robert Burke / Matthew Burke - Toyota AE71 Corolla
40 James Price / TBA - Ford Escort MKII
41 Michael Curtin / Pierce Lennon - Datsun 1600
42 Peter Dimmock / Leigh Brimson-Pierce - Ford Fiesta
43 Richie Dalton / Dale Moscatt - Ford Fiesta G4
44 Stuart Collison / Lance Arundel - Subaru WRX STI
45 Thomas Dermody / Eoin Moynihan - Ford RS 1800 Escort
46 Darren Windus / Joe Brick - Subaru WRX
47 David Stephens / Lynda Leigh - Subaru WRX
48 TBA / TBA - Hyundai Excel
49 Sean Mc Aloon / Sean Mc Aloon - Escort Ford
50 TBA / TBA - Escort Ford 1978
51 Peter Thompson / Ken Hind - Toyota Celica RA23
52 Jake Bramble / TBA - Datsun 1600 1968
53 Terry Gunter / Stephen Newell - Ford Escort Mk2
54 Tom Clarke / Ryan Preston - Mitsubishi Evo 9
55 Brett Wright / Rob Edwards - Datsun Bluebird
56 Russell Dixon / Jack Dixon - Subaru Liberty
57 John Sparkes / Nigel Walters - Nissan Silvia
58 Clayton Hoy / TBA - Mitsubishi Evo 6
59 Joshua Hilton / Rodney Vanderpoel - Toyota Corolla
60 Richard Carter / TBA - Datsun Stanza
61 Aaron Casmiri / Sam Hill - Mitsubishi Mirage
