The 2008 Australian Rally Championship was largely dominated by the Toyota Racing Developments team. Both Simon and Sue Evans, and Neal Bates and Coral Taylor, ran S2000 Corollas. Their closest challengers were Simon’s brother Eli, with co-driver Chris Murphy, in a Subaru. Other contenders included Victorians Spencer Lowndes and Chris Randell, and Justin Dowel and Matt Lee, both in Lancer Evo9s. Glen and Matt Raymond ran a Corolla Sportivo. Darren Windus continued to run the S2000 Fiesta but Michael Guest was in a Subaru. The only other S2000 car was the lovely Polo of Queenslander, Marius Swart.
Bates and Taylor took five heat wins and five other podiums to Simon and Sue Evans’ four heat wins and four other podiums. It was Neal and Coral’s fourth national title and the first since their hat-trick of titles in 1993-95. An off in Heat 1 of Rally Queensland was costly for the Evans couple, as well as engine failure on Heat 2 in WA. Eli Evans took three heat wins and four other podiums to finish a strong third in the championship, despite not competing in Tasmania. Lowndes and Randell scored consistently to place fourth in the points. Michael Guest and David Green picked up a couple of podiums in their Subaru while Nathan Quinn and Ben Atkinson placed third in the final round in Quinn’s backyard at Coff Harbour. Darren Windus took a podium in Canberra,
Toyota were unchallenged for the Manufacturers award but it appears no award was made.
Eli Evans and Chris Murphy won the Privateers Cup. Dennis and Jaqueline Dunlop won the Premier League award. while Molly Taylor again won the F16 Cup.
To see other years of the ARC, go to the series page.
