Rally Australia blow for LWR

Rising rally driver, Brendan Reeves, has been forced to withdraw from next week’s Australian round of the World Rally Championship because of injuries sustained in a crash last month. Twenty-year old Reeves was to have driven for the Tasmanian team, Les Walkden Rallying, in an attempt to win the Pirelli Star Driver award, with a fully funded six-round WRC program as the prize. However, Reeves has not been able to secure medical clearance to contest Repco Rally Australia, leaving another former LWR driver, Eli Evans, as the pre-event favourite for the award. “It’s a real shame and it was a really difficult decision to withdraw,” Reeves said, “but I am still undergoing medical treatment after the accident in South Australia and if I can’t give 100 per cent in the rally, there’s no point in me competing. “I’m still young and hopefully there will be lots more opportunities to earn a drive overseas in the future,” he added. “I want to ensure I am 100 per cent fit before returning to competition.” Reeves was thought by many to be the man to beat for the Pirelli Star Driver award after a string of impressive results over the past 12 months. In Rally South Australia he had set fastest stage times in the Australian Rally Championship event, only to leave the road and hit a tree less than five kilometres from the finish of the final stage. Team owner, Les Walkden, says that Reeves first priority is to get healthy. “Brendan has a long career ahead of him, so the most important thing at the moment is to get back into top physical shape, so that when he returns to competition he is immediately back to his best,” Walkden said. Reeves has been forced to wear a neck brace since the accident, and has been unable to drive a car. His co-driver and sister, Rhianon Smyth, broke both legs in the crash and has begun a long rehabilitation program. “Both Rhianon and I are both very keen to get back into the car and compete again,” Reeves said. “We’ve proved over the past 12 or 18 months that we have the speed to match it with the best drivers, and we’re confident that we can achieve our goals over the next few years.”

 

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