In many respects this year was a repeat of the previous year with the same five events, albeit with Coffs moved to the first round, with two heats per event. But in the absence of Ed Ordynski, it was a season long dual between Possum Bourne in the Subaru and Neal Bates in the new WRC Corolla. But Bourne had the edge, winning both heats of the first four events, claiming the championship at the fourth round in Tasmania. The co-driver award was still up for grabs at the final round as Craig Vincent had missed the first round with Bourne, Bates and Taylor had taken second place on most heats but took two heat wins on the final round in Melbourne, but despite the 50% bonus points, it was not enough for Taylor to overhaul Vincent, who together with Bourne placed second on both heats.
There were some other great performances during the year, including Cody Crocker and Greg Foletta in the Group N Subaru who placed fourth in the championship and took out the Group N award, also contributing to Subaru’s Manufacturer award. John and Damien Long placed consistently in their Lancer Evo3, including three podiums, to finish third in the championship
To see other years of the ARC, go to the series page.
