Cerberus Stages Excel unoffical results

[ernysp76]

Just staying on the road proved difficult and the VRC lived up to its reputation as a drought breaker. With only 5 stages completed before the event was called short. Paul Batten & Craig Jones made a welcome (and successful) return to the Excel series with Ema Cugley and Joanne Robison 2nd and John Ernst & Bronwyn Metha 3rd, both Carney's DNF'd with off's.

[Crazy Dave]

The Carney's pushing each other for the quickest in the house. Might prove to be an interesting battle for the year.

[Whitey]

What happened to the Kaitlers???
They didn't seem to make it past the entry list.


It was a nice suprise to see Paul and Craig run in the 'Factory' Excel named Elvis, i thought they were going to run a WReX this year.

Sounds like it must have been very slippery.

[Rally Angel]

It was a nice suprise to see Paul and Craig run in the 'Factory' Excel named Elvis, i thought they were going to run a WReX this year.

We were under this impression as well - think we saw it on RSM or something that they had purchased a WRX. Good to seem them in an Excel. We look forward to hearing more about the event.

[John C]

Hi Guys and Girls
yep 2 DNF's in the same family, but it was real fun while it lasted. Not two much damage on my car we drove it out and then I drove it home and had it stripped ready for the damage dozer by 5.00 p.m. Tin A!!E Daniel didn't even manage a scratch let alone a dent. P.S first panel damage in 35 years of competition, make note to one's self not to try and keep up with young guys driving Elvis cars using borrowed suspension.

It was a really well run event on some great roads and Paul and Craig were 3 rd 2 wd as well as first Hyundai and 17 th outright , if they had have had the Genuine real Hyundai works rally car they may well have won PRC2 and fastest 2 wd. A Hyundai Lantra was 16 th outright driven by James Elliott.

Sorry about this short report but got Gippsland Farmworld Field days this week so no time

[Col Vic]

Our first Victorian round was held at the weekend at Neerim/Powelltown, another wet event (Need rain? Run a Rally !!). There were 6 cars entered, Paul Batten/Craig Jones in Greg Moulden's single cam 5 door, Tom and Therese Kaitler (Tom's second daughter) although Tom was a non starter due to only arriving back from Europe on Friday, John Carney/Russ Day, John Ernst/Bronni Metha and Daniel Carney/Rachel Hale.

After a rush to get the car finished, including a log book issued at 5 to 5 on Friday and a last minute suspension update thanks to a pair of John Ernst's struts in the front and a set of John Carney's in the back, Paul and Craig set the pace early on in Greg Moulden's single cam "demo car" and ended up 18th outright, 3rd 2 wheel drive and 1st Excel (2nd 2 wheel drive was actually a Lantra, driven by James Elliott, an ex ACT competitor, our challenge for the Excels will now be to beat him as well) Emma & Jo came in 2nd followed by Ernie and Bronni. Not a good day for the Carneys, Daniel and Rachel had a small off on stage 2, no damage, but stuck in the Poweltown clay. Not to be outdone, father John parked his and Russ Day's red Excel off the road in stage 3, again the victim of slippery clay roads, damage to the left guard and bonnet.

I'm sure the others will fill you in on the details.

Next Victorian round will be the East Gippsland Stages on 5th May, followed by Bega on 10 June. Should be a cople more cars by then.

Col

[ernysp76]

According to Paul the WRX will be run in the Challenge series during ARC events. Clearly his work with the AIS has paid off, now we need to get Emma up there as well as clearly she has the potential to go a long way in the sport.

[Whitey]

Taken from Paul's event report. Congratulations, well done

Paul Batten Racing has overcome a hectic lead up to take a convincing win during round one of the 2007 Victorian Excel Series along with a remarkable 18th outright surrounded by a field of 4WD Turbo cars. The "Cerberus Stages" was held in conjunction with round 1 of the Victorian Rally Championship in what turned out to be atrocious conditions with the event being cut short.

http://www.excelrally.com.au/images/cerb1.jpg

The decision to compete in the event was only made on the Monday leading up to the event. The lengthy process then began to turn a 1995 5 door Hyundai Excel "display car" into a rally ready machine. Greg Moulden and the Students at Kangan Batman Tafe worked tirelessly on the car and were still putting final touches onto the vehicle on the Friday afternoon. With the suspension only installed on the morning of the event with components borrowed from fellow Excel Competitors.

The Cerberus Stages was round one of the 2007 Victorian Championship. Held in the forests around Nerrim. The hills did not suit the Single Cam Excel but flowing roads suited Paul's driving style with the team coming away with the Excel series win, 2nd in the under 1600cc class P2 and 3rd outright 2WD.

The Stages where held in slippery conditions and the event was eventually cut short with some huge down pours over the course of the day. "It's disappointing to see the event cut short, I was really enjoying myself! The car was great considering our lead-up and we were happy with our speed after 6 months out of competition. I was really able to put into practise some of the things I learnt at the AIS camp, and it definitely helped my driving. We are looking forward to the next round and hopefully giving our Dunlop tyres a run in the dry!" Paul explained at the duration of the event.

Paul Batten Racing would Like to thank Greg and the Students from Kangan Batman Tafe for their pre event preparation. Along with Stuckey Tyre Service, Rallydrive.com.au, WURTH, Coxy's Motorsport Parts, Pitman Trucks, Hyon Auto parts and Smash repairs and Hubble Photografix.

http://www.excelrally.com.au/images/cerb2.jpg

The next event for Paul Batten Racing is the East Gippsland Stages, round two of the 2007 Victorian Excel Series. The Excel series car will receive some upgrades including suspension and weight reduction. The event will hopefully see Paul and the team extend their lead in the 2007 Series. Preparations also continue on the Teams 2006 Subaru STI in anticipation for Rally Canberra, Round three of the NEC Australian Rally Championship.

www.paulbatten.com (http://www.paulbatten.com)