State victory boosts confidence for Rally Queensland

This weekend’s Rally Queensland offers IntelliSpatial Fleetcare Racing a chance for top results, especially after a crucial state championship win last month.

Peter Rullo and co-driver Ben Searcy took a clear victory in the Fleetcare Safari in Grimwade event in Western Australia recently, and alongside teammates Alex Rullo and Steve Glenney, the team will use that momentum into this round of the EROAD Australian Rally Championship.

As is always the case, the competition will be even fiercer than that faced locally, and both Hyundai i20 N Rally2s are ready for whatever the Queensland countryside can throw at them.

Embarking on the biggest trip of the season, the cars left the Race Torque workshop well in advance for the trip of more than 4,000 kilometres to the rally base in Gympie.

The longest trip of the season provides its unique challenge in many ways.

“I don't mind the roads in Gympie, it’s always an enjoyable and well-supported event, but it is rough in some sections,” Peter Rullo explained.

“The difference to other rallies on the calendar is that roads (in Queensland) are very narrow, so we’ll be looking to adjust the car to make it better suited to those types of roads.”

Work for the rally has been ongoing for some time, and more recently, the team has studied onboard vision of years past to get themselves reacquainted with the stages.

Overall, it may not be the ideal surface for their Hyundai to shine amongst its Rally2 peers, but there are opportunities for stage wins, especially in the short 'Gympie Gold' test.

Alex Rullo and Steve Glenney won this stage comfortably in 2024 and secured six additional championship points for second place when it concluded the rally later that day as the Power Stage. 

“I watched his in-car footage from last year, and he had a moment on about the fourth corner in," Peter explained.

"I think there was a concrete wall on another section, which he went wide, so he was definitely pushing. It has a little tarmac section in the middle, and that's something he does really well."

Setup changes will also be crucial for both cars, with Thursday's pre-event test a chance for the team to get bedded in.

“We were having a look more broadly at the coverage, too, and discussing what changes we're going to make to the setup compared to what we had at the Forest Rally.

“Looking at how many times Alex’s car bottomed out last year in the bumps, it was significant. There are parts of the rally that suit our car, and then other parts that don't.

“We don't have the same amount of suspension travel as the Skodas and Toyotas, unfortunately, so the car is more suited to the smoother rallies.

“The car is definitely better equipped for these roads than last year, though. We've got more high-speed control than we did then, with some of the improvements that Hayden Paddon’s been able to advise us on from a setup perspective.”

Picking and choosing where to find maximum speed and where to conserve will be an important aspect of this weekend’s action. In all, that action covers almost 200 kilometres of competitive driving.

Within that, crews pass many famous locations, including the Gympie Muster site, where cars run on a special spectator section with many in attendance.

There are also several activations for Hyundai N owners within proceedings at the rally, including a chance for fans to meet and greet the team during Saturday’s action.

Rally Queensland’s famous ‘Wheels on Mary’ Rally Show will take place on Friday evening from 5.30pm before 14 stages run this Saturday and Sunday.