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New car claims forest win

Team Citroen Australia driver Eli Evans and co-driver Glen Weston were the first car off the ranks in Heat 2 Section 5. Picture: Gordon Becker

Former Australian rally champion Eli Evans and co-driver Glen Weston took home the winner's title at the annual Quit Forest Rally at the weekend.

Evans and Weston took their Citroen DS3 for its first outing this weekend as the pair tackled the Trade Hire Special Stage in Busselton on Friday and Saturday night and Nannup's forests on Saturday and Sunday.

The event, which doubled as a WA Rally Championship round and an Australian Rally Championship round, saw Evans and Weston dominate the ARC, with results from heat one and two pushing the pair to the top of the podium, while dynamic duo Garry Whittle and Mick Heuchan claimed the top spot in the WARC.

Evans said his car "didn't miss a beat" all weekend and added he really enjoyed his first time in the car and at the event.

"It's a big relief," he said. "I was feeling the pressure a lot this morning as I really wanted to do well for Citroen.

"They have put a lot of belief in me to get them results and I've been able to do that first go in the car. We had a few issues at the start of the day yesterday, driver error, but from there on we had a dream run."

Driver Molly Taylor also made history at the weekend, becoming the first woman to win a heat of the ARC.

Taylor fell short of the championship win by only five points, placing second overall.

Completing the podium was Simon Evans, the brother of winner Eli, and his co-driver Ben Searcy, who placed third after a couple years away from the circuit.

Mick Patton and Bernie Webb took the honours in the Australian four-wheel-drive rally series, while rally legends Neal Bates and Coral Taylor dominated the action in the classic rally challenge.

Father and son combination Paul and Jason Lowther also claimed victory in the opening round of the WA Clubman Cup.