Atkinson hopeful for Repco Rally | Northern Rivers Sport | Local Sports in Northern Rivers

Dave Kirkpatrick | 4th July 2009

The official route of the Repco Rally has been released.

Northern Star

WITH 61 days to go until the start of Repco Rally Australia, this country's best rally driver, Chris Atkinson, still doesn't know whether he'll make it to the starting line.

The Gold Coast driver, whose Subaru team withdrew from the World Rally Championship in January, says if he doesn't find a sponsor and get a car shipped here within the next three weeks he won't make it.

“I'm still working on it,” he said. “It's not an easy financial climate to be looking for a sponsor.

“I'm not with a team at the moment, but I still hope to get a car out here. There is nothing confirmed yet, but obviously I still hope to get over the line.”

Atkinson rated himself a '50-50 chance' of securing a drive for the rally and said he would be extremely disappointed if he couldn't race in a rally so close to home.

“We have led Rally Australia (when it was in WA) but we never had a win there, so I do know what it is like to have a home event and to have that support is massive,” he said.

“As well, this one is so close to home, and to have family and friends around, obviously, it would be disappointing to miss out.

“If we do get to the rally it would be great for the area and great for rallying.”

But now that he is out of the WRC loop, Atkinson admitted it would be difficult for him to be competitive in Rally Australia.

“That's the tricky thing,” he said.

“We mightn't be competitive on day one, but by the second or third day, we'd be on the pace.”

He expects the course, which includes stages in the Tweed and Kyogle shires, to be 'fast and flowing'.

“I'm sure it is going to be good fun to drive on but also with those high speeeds you get high risk,” he said.

In the meantime, Atkinson hasn't been idle, keeping his hand in by test driving cars and scoring a drive in a John Cooper Works Mini during the upcoming Townsville round of the V8 Supercar series.

And if he is not at the Rally Australia starting line in September, he will look at working his way back into the WRC next year.

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