The 2018 Rally Australia (formally known as the 27. Kennards Hire Rally Australia) was a motor racing event for rally cars that took place between 15 and 18 November. The event was open to entries competing in World Rally Cars and cars complying with Group R regulations. It marked the twenty-seventh running of Rally Australia and was the final round of the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship and its support series, the WRC-2 and WRC-3 championships. The 2018 event was based in Coffs Harbour in New South Wales and consisted of twenty-four special stages. The rally covered a total competitive distance of a and an additional in transport stages.
Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul were the defending rally winners. The Finnish crew of Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen were the reigning winners of the World Rally Championship-2, but did not enter the rally this year. There were no defending crews in the World Rally Championship-3 category since no crews entered here last year.
Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila won their first rally victory since 2017 Rally Sweden. Their team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, were the manufacturers' winners. The M-Sport Ford WRT crew of Alberto Heller and José Diaz won the World Rally Championship-2 category in a Škoda Fabia R5. In the World Rally Championship-3, there were no classified finishers.
Defending world champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia took fifth place, which was enough for them to secure their sixth consecutive drivers' and co-drivers' titles respectively. Following a win and a 4th-place finish, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT won their first manufacturers' title since 1999. In the WRC-3 championships, Enrico Brazzoli and Luca Beltrame still secured the titles although the Italian crews retired from the event.
Background Championship standings prior to the event Defending world champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia entered the round with a three-point lead over the defending rally winners Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul. Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja were third, a further twenty points behind. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT held a twelve-point lead over Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT.
In the World Rally Championship-2 standings, newly-crowned champions Jan Kopecký and Pavel Dresler lead the drivers' and co-drivers' standings by thirty-three points. Pontus Tidemand and Jonas Andersson were in second, while the Finnish crew of Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen were another twenty-one points behind in third. However, all of them did not participate in the event. In the teams' championship, Škoda Motorsport II held a seventeen-point lead over sister team Škoda Motorsport.
In the World Rally Championship-3 standings, Enrico Brazzoli and Luca Beltrame held a slender one-point lead over Taisko Lario and Tatu Hämäläinen, while 2018 Junior World Rally champions Emil Bergkvist and Johan Johansson were in third, eleven and seventeen points further behind in the drivers' and co-drivers' standings respectively. In the teams' championship, ACI Team Italia led Castrol Ford Team Turkiye by sixteen points.
Entry list The following crews were entered into the rally. The entry list consisted of twenty-nine crews, including twelve World Rally Car entries, four entries in the World Rally Championship-2 and two in the World Rally Championship-3.
No. Entrant Driver Co-driver Car Group Eligibility Tyre 1 M-Sport Ford WRT Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Ford Fiesta WRC RC1 2 M-Sport Ford WRT Elfyn Evans Daniel Barritt Ford Fiesta WRC RC1 WRC manufacturer 3 M-Sport Ford WRT Teemu Suninen Mikko Markkula Ford Fiesta WRC RC1 WRC manufacturer 4 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Andreas Mikkelsen RC1 WRC manufacturer 5 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC RC1 WRC manufacturer 6 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hayden Paddon Sebastian Marshall Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC RC1 WRC manufacturer 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Miikka Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC RC1 WRC manufacturer 8 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC RC1 WRC manufacturer 9 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm Toyota Yaris WRC RC1 WRC manufacturer 10 Mads Østberg Torstein Eriksen Citroën C3 WRC RC1 WRC manufacturer 11 Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT Craig Breen Scott Martin Citroën C3 WRC RC1 WRC manufacturer 21 M-Sport Ford WRT Lara Vanneste Ford Fiesta WRC RC1 WRC 31 Pedro Heller Pedro Heller Pablo Olmos Ford Fiesta R5 RC2 WRC-2 32 Motorsport Italia Armin Kremer Pirmin Winklhofer Škoda Fabia R5 RC2 WRC-2 33 M-Sport Ford WRT Alberto Heller José Diaz Ford Fiesta R5 RC2 WRC-2 34 Gianluca Linari Gianluca Linari Pietro Elia Ometto Subaru Impreza WRX STi RC2 WRC-2 61 Enrico Brazzoli Enrico Brazzoli Luca Beltrame Citroën DS3 R3 RC3 WRC-3 62 Louise Cook Louise Cook Stefan Davis Citroën DS3 R3 RC3 WRC-3 71 Eli Evans Eli Evans Ben Searcy Škoda Fabia R5 RC2 72 Harry Bates Harry Bates John McCarthy Toyota Yaris AP4 ASN 73 Team MRF Tyres Gaurav Gill Glenn MacNeall Ford Fiesta R5 RC2 74 Steve Glenney Steve Glenney Andrew Sarandis Škoda Fabia R5 RC2 75 Les Walkden Racing Molly Taylor Malcolm Read Subaru Impreza WRX STi ASN 76 Raana Horan Raana Horan Michael Connor Škoda Fabia R5 RC2 77 Tony Sullens Tony Sullens Kaylie Newell Citroën DS3 R3 RC3 78 Wayne Morton Wayne Morton Kirra Penny Toyota Auris S2000 ASN 79 Atsushi Masumura Naoya Tanaka Super Alex Troop Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X RC2 80 Lewis Bates Lewis Bates Anthony McLoughlin Toyota Corolla S2000 ASN 81 Luke Anear Luke Anear Jon Mitchell ASN Source:
Report Leg 1 Coming into Coffs Harbour, Sébastien Ogier was the championship leader. Being first on the road, he had to endured the lack of grip. He ended the day in seventh after title contender Thierry Neuville suffered a rear-left puncture in the second pass of Sherwood, which dropped him down to tenth overall. Another title rival Ott Tänak also had some issue. His Yaris' engine took on water in a river crossing, which tore the front aero from his car and affected its handling. The Estonian eventually finished in fifth overall, 16.9 seconds off the lead.
It was Mads Østberg and Craig Breen made full use of advantages of being late on the road that gave Citroën a 1–2. Jari-Matti Latvala was 1.9 seconds behind Breen in third, followed by Hayden Paddon, another 3.8 seconds behind in fourth. Esapekka Lappi recovered to sixth after of the same watersplash issue as Tänak's. Ford duo Elfyn Evans and Teemu Suninen completed the day in eighth and ninth respectively after giving positions to their defending world champion Ogier. Andreas Mikkelsen was the only major retirement of the leg. The Norwegian parked his i20 with suspected radiator damage after crashing into a ditch.
Leg 2 Because of the puncture on Friday, Thierry Neuville was the first manufacturer car on the road. The Belgian managed to catch two places despite dry roads meant he was effectively high-speed road-sweepers, cleaning the surface of thick gravel to expose a faster line with more grip for those starting later. He eventually ended the leg in eighth, more than 50 seconds behind the title rival Sébastien Ogier, who kept his position in sixth after a trouble free day. Meanwhile, Ott Tänak set some brilliant pace, which elevated him to the top spot, around 20 seconds cleared of his teammate Jari-Matti Latvala. If the rally ends today, Ogier will win his sixth consecutive drivers' title with 212 points, while Tänak will snatch the runner-up spot from Neuville with an advantage of only one point in the championship standings.
Following two Toyotas, Hayden Paddon was in third, just 4.4 seconds off Latvala. Mads Østberg came into the day as the rally leader, but he was struggled with his Citroën C3’s balance in the afternoon loop. The Norwegian completed the day in fourth, just edged Esapekka Lappi by 3.8 seconds. Teammate Craig Breen fared worse — He spun into a bank and damaged his rear suspension, which dropped him down to tenth overall. Seventh-place Elfyn Evans provided a convenient buffer between Ogier and Neuville, with teammate Teemu Suninen finished the leg in ninth.
Leg 3 It turned out the final leg of the season was a total disaster for two title contenders Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak. Neuville, who led the championship for most of the year, clipped a bank and a tree on SS22 and forced to retire. One stage later, Tänak stopped because of the damage to transmission. Following two title rivals' retirements, Sébastien Ogier successfully won his sixth drivers' title with a fifth-place finish. Toyota's Jari-Matti Latvala won the rally, which helped the team to win their first manufacturers' title for the first time since 1999. Hayden Paddon and Mads Østberg rounded out of the podium, followed by Esapekka Lappi in a third Yaris. Elfyn Evans completed the event in sixth after teammate Ogier, while Craig Breen gained one place from Teemu Suninen, who retired his Fiesta before the final test following an impact in the previous stage. WRC-2 category winner Alberto Heller, local driver Steve Glenney and rally veteran Jourdan Serderidis covered out of the leaderboard.
Classification Final results Driver Entrant Car Time Difference 1 7 Miikka Anttila Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC WRC 2:59:52.0 0.0 0.0 2 6 Hayden Paddon Sebastian Marshall Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC WRC 3:00:24.5 +32.5 +32.5 3 10 Mads Østberg Torstein Eriksen Citroën C3 WRC WRC 3:00:44.2 +52.2 +19.7 4 9 Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC WRC 3:00:54.3 +1:02.3 +10.1 5 1 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC WRC 3:02:22.8 +2:30.8 +1:28.5 6 2 Elfyn Evans Daniel Barritt M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC WRC 3:02:22.8 +3:05.1 +34.3 7 11 Craig Breen Scott Martin Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT Citroën C3 WRC WRC 3:08:51.0 +8:59.0 +5:53.9 8 33 Alberto Heller José Diaz M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 3:22:20.5 +22:28.5 +13:29.5 9 74 Steve Glenney Andrew Sarandis Steve Glenney Škoda Fabia R5 3:26:53.8 +27:01.8 +4:33.3 10 21 Lara Vanneste M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC WRC 3:35:06.1 +35:14.1 +8:12.3 11 4 Andreas Mikkelsen Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT WRC 3:43:13.9 +43:21.9 +8:07.8 12 34 Gianluca Linari Pietro Elia Ometto Gianluca Linari WRC-2 3:49:40.4 +49:48.4 +6:26.5 13 71 Eli Evans Ben Searcy Eli Evans Škoda Fabia R5 4:05:03.5 +1:05:11.5 +15:23.1 14 80 Lewis Bates Anthony McLoughlin Lewis Bates Toyota Corolla S2000 4:13:38.8 +1:13:46.8 +8:35.3 15 73 Gaurav Gill Glenn MacNeall Team MRF Tyres Ford Fiesta R5 4:14:20.0 +1:14:28.0 +41.2 Ret 8 Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC WRC Retired SS23 Ret 3 Teemu Suninen Mikko Markkula M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC WRC Retired SS23 Ret 5 Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC WRC Retired SS22 Ret 32 Armin Kremer Pirmin Winklhofer Motorsport Italia Škoda Fabia R5 WRC-2 Retired SS21 Ret 31 Pedro Heller Pablo Olmos Pedro Heller Ford Fiesta R5 WRC-2 Retired SS20 Ret 76 Raana Horan Michael Connor Raana Horan Škoda Fabia R5 Retired SS19 Ret 78 Wayne Morton Kirra Penny Wayne Morton Toyota Auris S2000 Retired SS19 Ret 79 Naoya Tanaka Super Alex Troop Atsushi Masumura Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X Retired SS19 Ret 61 Enrico Brazzoli Luca Beltrame Enrico Brazzoli Citroën DS3 R3 WRC-3 Retired SS14 Ret 72 Harry Bates John McCarthy Harry Bates Toyota Yaris AP4 Retired SS14 DNS 62 Louise Cook Stefan Davis Louise Cook Citroën DS3 R3 WRC-3 Did not start DNS 75 Molly Taylor Malcolm Read Les Walkden Racing Subaru Impreza WRX STi Did not start DNS 77 Tony Sullens Kaylie Newell Tony Sullens Citroën DS3 R3 Did not start DNS 81 Luke Anear Jon Mitchell Luke Anear Did not start Source:
Point scorers