Make sure you check out the video of Dean’s 2008 season with Subaru Rally Team China in the Chinese Rally Championship.
The video includes coverage from rallies Mohe, Changbai Mountain and STRC’s historic win in Longyu. To watch the video, just click the ‘Play’ button.
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Good news from the Maximum Motorsport workshops this week, with Dean Herridge and the team committing to least one more round of the Australian Rally Championship, the Quit Forest Rally in April.
Having competed at Rally Tasmania, Dean and the team were keen to do their local round of the ARC. “Our plan is to be in Busselton in April”, Dean said, speaking from the Maxiumum workshops. “Being our home event, it’s one that we always like to compete at, and one where we’ve had plenty of success over the years”.
The team also hoped to compete at Rally Canberra in two weeks time, but were forced to pull out due to scheduling and budget considerations. “Having competed at Rally Tasmania, we would have also liked to have contested Rally Canberra as well. But due to the tight scheduling between Tasmanian and Canberra, we were struggling to find a proper the budget to do Canberra. So we’ve decided to commit to the Quit Forest Rally, and really have a good crack at it.”
The Forest Rally will see Dean back in his 2007 Subaru Impreza STi, the same car in which he last won the ARC Privateers Cup. “We’ll be back in the ’07 car. Ideally we would have liked to have used the new (2008-spec) car, but that car needs to be in Tasmania at the end of April for Targa. So we’ll be back in the Impreza I used in the ARC throughout 2006 and 2007. We’ve got plenty of experience with that car and it’s still a very competitive package, so we expect to be able to push for good result”.
The decision to contest the Forest Rally also means Dean has the chance to gain more competitive miles with new co-driver Glen Weston before Targa Tasmania. “Glen’s come on board for the ARC rounds and Targa Tasmania, so this will be another chance for us to get used to one another in a competitive environment”.
The Quit Forest Rally starts on the 3rd of April, and features spectator-friendly Super Special stages in Busselton, with forest stages around the near-by township of Nannup.
Rally Canberra 2007 photos courtesy of Anand Philar.
Dean Herridge has completed a successful Rally Tasmania, gaining more experience with the brand-new Maximum Motorsport Subaru STi ahead of April’s Targa Tasmania.
“Obviously, it was a tough weekend”, Dean explained after returning from Tasmania. “This new car was built as a dedicated ‘targa’ car, so to have one day to convert it to Group N spec and expect it to be immediately on the pace was asking a lot. But having said that, we improved our pace as the weekend went on and to finish 6th among some pretty fast Group N and Super 2000 cars was pleasing”.
But Rally Tasmania not only allowed Dean to put more miles under the belt of the new Impreza; it also allowed him to reconnect with old rivals from the Australian Rally Championship, the first time he has contested an ARC round since September 2007.
“It was great to be back and competing in the ARC. These are crews I’ve competed against for most of the past decade. And although the factory teams are now out of the championship, the series still has some very quick production car drivers”.
“We’re still looking at budgets, but we hope to do one or two more rounds this year”.
With two events now under the belt of the new Impreza, the Maximum Motorsport crew will ship it back to their Perth workshops and begin to prepare it for Targa Tasmania.
“We’re really starting to collect some good data on this new car. We’ll have a look at some engine management mappings, and we’re getting a good idea of what works in terms of suspension setups. And, of course, I’m getting a lot more experience in the car. So Rally Tasmania, while the final result wasn’t where we wanted to be, has given us a lot more information that we can use in preparation from Targa Tasmania”.
Rally Tasmania, the first round of the ARC for 2009, was a fight between team-mates Neal Bates and Simon Evans in the final appearance of the Toyota factory team. Bates held the lead for most of the event, but was pushed all the way by both Simon and brother Eli, the Evans boys claiming 2nd and 3rd places. The ARC now travels north to Rally Canberra at the start of March, and Dean will have a short break from competition before returning to Tasmania for ‘Targa’ which starts on April 28.
Final Results – ARC Rally Tasmania
1. Bates / Taylor 01:39:22.1
2. Evans / Evans +00:10.5
3. Evans / Murphy +00:36.4
4. Reeves / Smyth +02:40.0
5. Raymond / Raymond +02:48.4
6. Herridge / Weston +03:40.3
7. Lowndes / Randell +04:31.3
Photos courtesy of Joel Strickland and rally.com.au
Dean Herridge is set to make a return to the Australian Rally Championship at next weekends Rally Tasmania. The ARC originally wasn’t on the radar for the former Privateer Cup champion, but the close scheduling of Targa Wrest Point and Rally Tasmania has provided Herridge the opportunity to test his new Maxiumum Motorsport Subaru Impreza STi against his old ARC rivals.
“It was a very last minute decision”, commented Herridge. “Having competed at Targa Wrest Point last weekend, the car in Tasmania. It was an opportunity too good to ignore, and we thought ‘Let’s throw our hat in the ring’! We’ll convert the car back to Group N specification over the next few days, and I’ll fly back to Tasmania for recce next week”.
“We’re been really pleased with the new car, considering Wrest Point was its first event. We made some setup changes after the first day and managed to climb a few places on Sunday for 5th outright. So that was really pleasing. Our main goal is Targa Tasmania in April, so Rally Tasmania will give us some more experience with this car on roads that will be similar to Targa Tasmania”.
It will be first time Dean has competed in the ARC since the Great Lakes Rally in September ’07. And sitting beside him will be one of his old rivals, Glen Weston. “I’ve known Glen for a few years now. He’s been Scott Pedders co-driver for a number of years. He’s a very experienced co-driver and we’ve competed against one another in the ARC and the APRC. Chris Murphy has been my regular co-driver for the last 12 months, but he’s committed to Eli Evans for the ARC. So it’s a great opportunity for both Glen and myself to team up and to see how we go”.
So does Rally Tasmania mark a comeback for Dean to the Australia series? “We may do another round of the series. Obviously Perth won’t be too hard for us, being our local round of the ARC. And we have plans to compete at Rally Australia later in the year. But it all depends on obtaining further support. We already have a full program planned for the Chinese championship this year with Subaru China and that’s the main priority”.
Rally Tasmania runs over the weekend of February 13-15, with updates available from www.rally.com.au and www.deanherridge.com.
Photos courtesy of Joel Strickland and Targa Wrest Point.
Dean Herridge and the Maximum Motorsport team have claimed fifth place at Targa Wrest Point, edging out pre-race favourite Jim Richards on the final stage of the event.
Having completed Saturdays stages in seventh, the Maximum Motorsport Subaru Impreza STi found the narrower, bumpier Sunday stages more to its liking. Herridge and co-driver Chris Murphy immediately attacked the Porsche GT2 of Richards. The two crews traded times throughout the day, in the process slashing into the margins that seperated them from fourth placed Matt Close and fifth-placed Andrew Miedecke.
With just the 12km Longley 2 stage to complete the event, Herridge overtook both Richards and Miedecke, posting a hat-trick of second-fastest stage times, and capturing fifth place.
The event was won by local driver Greg Garwood in a Porsche 911 GT3. Starting as overnight leaders, Garwood held off determined attacks from both Tony Quinn and Jason White, the podium positions separated by only 12 seconds.
Like many of the competitors in the Modern category, Wrest Point was a good shakedown ahead of Targa Tasmania, and the Maximum Motorsport crew will now ship the all-new Impreza back to their Perth workshops to prepare for week-long marathon that begins on April 28.
Targa Wrest Point – Modern Category
1. Greg Garwood / John Allen, 2004 Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 59min 28sec
2. Tony Quinn / Naomi Tillett, 2008 Nissan GTR, +3sec
3. Jason White / John White, 2007 Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, +12sec
4. Matt Close / Cameron Reeves, 2000 Porsche 911 Turbo, +1m05sec
5. Dean Herridge / Chris Murphy, 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, +1m07s
6. Jim Richards / Barry Oliver, 2008 Porsche 911 GT2, +1m08s
Photos courtesy of James Rayson and Targa Wrest Point.
Dean Herridge and the Maximum Motorsport team have made a positive start to Targa Wrest Point, within striking distance of the leaders in their all-new 2008 Subaru Impreza STi.
Competing in the Modern category, Dean and co-driver Chris Murphy managed to keep in touch with crews running more powerful and exotic hardware, including the Porsche GT3 of leader Greg Garwood and GT2 of Jim Richards, the Lamborghini Gallardo of Jason White and the Nissan GTR of Tony Quinn. By the end of the first leg, Dean had completed the course in a time of 33 minutes and 29 seconds, just over a minute behind Garwood and just 28 seconds shy of fourth placed Matt Close.
The opening day got off to a dramatic start when the Owen Boak Citroen rolled on stage two. While the crew was uninjured, the incident effected the timetable for the rest of the day and forced the cancellation of half of Saturdays eight stages.
In its first competitive outing, the Herridge 2008-spec Subaru Impreza STi performed flawlessly, the car completed just prior to Wrest Point. While this event is a good opportunity to shakedown the new car in preparation for Targa Tasmania, Dean and Chris will be pressing to climb the leader board during tomorrows remaining eight stages.
Targa Wrest Point – Modern Category after Day 1
1. Greg Garwood / John Allen, 2004 Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 32:20
2. Tony Quinn / Naomi Tillett, 2008 Nissan GTR, +0:14
3. Jason White / John White, 2007 Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, +0:29
4. Matt Close / Cameron Reeves, 2000 Porsche 911 Turbo, +0:41
5. Andrew Miedecke / Daniel Wilson, 2007 Daytona Coupe, +0:43
6. Jim Richards / Barry Oliver, 2008 Porsche 911 GT2, +0:52
7. Dan Herrige / Chris Murphy, 2008 Subaru Impreza STi, +1:09
Photos courtesy of of www.sportcom.com.au/wrestpoint