Gonzalez makes it two from two in WA rally championship

While the national championship teams drew much of the spectators’ attention, the second round of the WA Rally Championship was a tight contest over the weekend.

While Alex Rullo and Steve Glenney looked strong early, it was Daniel Gonzalez and Daymon Nicoli who stood on the top step in Nannup.

Rullo and Glenney had the Bunbury Super Special Stage figured out early in their Hyundai i20 Rally 2, putting ten seconds on the championship leaders. Their efforts also placed them second in the Australian Rally Championship top class, behind Harry Bates and Coral Taylor by just four tenths of a second by the end of the night.

Unfortunately it all came unraveled in the Nannup forest. Mishearing the pace notes coming into a tight section, Rullo crashed. He limped the car home, but the suspension damage was too much, and they were forced to retire.

It opened the gates for Gonzalez and Nicoli, who had already found their groove on Saturday. They stormed out to take the heat one win by more than a minute, while Peter Rullo and James Marquet did their best in the second i20 to outpace the hard charging Rando Constructions Subaru entry of Craig Rando and Scott Beckwith.

The championship leaders wasted no time on Sunday either, taking out the 9.45km first stage with a time which also earned them fifth in the ARC standings, ahead of championship second place Luke Anear and Malcolm Read.

Finishing with a power stage win made it a perfect day for the Skoda R5 crew, and cements them at the top of the WA Rally Championship standings.

The WARC hits Donnybrook for the round three Grimwade Stages on July 1.