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Dowel Expecting Red Hot Battle In SA

Mechanical maladies blighted the opening two rounds of the Bosch Australian Rally Championship for Justin Dowel.

With mechanical maladies blighting the opening two rounds of the Bosch Australian Rally Championship for Justin Dowel, the Victorian is hoping for a trouble free run as the series heads to the Barossa Valley near Adelaide next weekend.

"It hasn't been a great start to the year but we head to South Australia with renewed confidence on the back of some serious improvements to our car," explained Dowel.

"The single biggest change is our brand new sequential gearbox. We put it through 110 kilometers of flat out testing yesterday and if I can sum it all up in a word it'd be - Fast!" he said regarding his unrestricted Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9.

Dowel, along with fellow Bosch ARC front runners Mark Pedder and Steven Shepheard, took full advantage of the 'unrestricted' rules introduced for 2011, allowing them to convert their existing Group A and Group N rally cars into fire-breathing, forest racers by, amongst other things, removing the turbo restrictor.

"I think it took all of us a couple of events to really get our heads around how the cars drive and behave now. I'm really excited to see what happens in South Australia though; I reckon we're going to see just how fast these cars can really go!" Justin exclaimed.

A new gearbox isn't the only change for the Dowel machine which will also be sporting a totally revised paint scheme.

"I looked at the television footage from Rally Queensland and just didn't like what I saw, so we've taken our old paint scheme (pre-2011) and reversed the colours to give it a totally new look. I think it looks heaps better, and everyone that's seen the car agrees."

"We've kept the branding Activ Rallysport, the name of our team, but it's a lot more prominent, which I think is important as manufacturers start looking at our sport more closely with the upcoming 2WD and SUV regulations," Dowel added.

Scouts Rally SA holds mixed feelings for the Activ team, Dowel admitting that he rates the event and the roads as amongst his absolute favourites, but a string of recent retirements has left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"I think I'm like a dog chasing a ball!" Dowel laughed.

"When I get to the big jumps in South Australia I just can't help myself but go faster and jump them really high.

"Two years ago I took the Mt Crawford jump too hard and the team chastised, so last year I just dribbled over it, but later at the railroad crossing jump I couldn't hold back and the end result was a smashed car, so this year I'm putting a triple caution on every jump!"

Dowel is expecting a determined fight throughout the weekend from series pace leader Ryan Smart in his Toyota Corolla but is looking to Mark Pedder as the clear favourite.

"Ryan (Smart) is always quick and very consistent, however at this I expect the unrestricted ARC cars to step up a level and I think Mark Pedder will be the one to watch, he's super determined to take his first win and he's always fast in South Australia," said Justin.

Asked if he thought Ryan Smart could make it three victories from three starts, Dowel simply said: "I think Ryan had better watch out, these ARC cars are fast and the speed of the roads down there are really going to play into the hands of the guys in the unrestricted Evo Lancers such as Steve Shepheard, Mark Pedder and I.

Scouts Rally SA starts Saturday 30th July and concludes Sunday 31st July, for full spectator information go to www.rallysa.com.au