Home soil rally has extra thrill

The Coffs Coast’s own Nathan Quinn and leading Aussie world rally driver Chris Atkinson at the Rally Australia launch.

Related links

• It's the torque of the town
• Ulong takes centre stage

WHEN Australia's most successful rally driver, Chris Atkinson, describes what it's like to drive in a round of the World Rally Championship on home soil, it's little wonder he's desperate to drive when the big show comes to the Coffs Coast in September.

“You don't expect the support that you get,” Atkinson said.

“You think of yourself as doing your job and driving a car, until you come to a home event and everyone is cheering for you.

“It's a special feeling and something you appreciate.”

Having driven for the Subaru World Rally Team for four years, the 31-year-old is trying to get the funding together so he can enter a vehicle in the WRC event in his own backyard.

Raising the money and finding a manufacturer are two large obstacles to overcome, but Atkinson believes he's on the right track.

“I'm always confident,” he said.

“Whether it's going to happen is probably a 50-50 thing at the moment, but having seen the footage of the advert, you forget that you're doing your own thing and I can't wait to get back into the World Rally Championship.”

Atkinson is competing in the Asia Pacific rounds and is sitting in fourth position.

Coffs Coast Rally Team driver Nathan Quinn will be competing in New Caledonia in the next round of that series next week.

Atkinson knows that a strong result in the Pacific will go a long way toward a manufacturer giving him a drive on the Coffs Coast. Some see his age as a factor against his getting a start, but the famed driver says he is driving better now than ever.

“I think I'm more consistent than I have been,” he said.

“There's a bit more maturity as you get older and my last year at Subaru we had a great year.

“We beat our teammate, Petter Solberg, who was world champion and we had five podium finishes, so I think if we continued on in 2009 it would've been a great year.”

Now all Atkinson is hoping for is the opportunity to have one great week on the Coffs Coast.

WHY ALL THE HYPE?

If you haven’t had a taste of the World Rally Championship and can’t understand why it’s the second most popular motor sports event in the world, best take a look at this video - you’ll soon get the idea...