Toyota has rounded out a clean sweep of the 2023 Australian Rally Championship season after topping both the manufacturer’s and driver’s championships with the help Harry Bates and co-driver Coral Taylor.
The results came at the most recent Rally of Canberra, with Harry Bates taking out his second ARC driver’s title alongside Coral Taylor taking out her fifth ARC title as co-driver.
Heading into the weekend, Harry & Coral were sitting 23 points ahead of brother Lewis Bates and co-driver Anthony McLoughlin.
Fast-forward to the final day of action and the pairing of Bates and Taylor took out seven stage wins, heading into the EROAD Power Stage just 3.9 seconds ahead of Lewis Bates and McLoughlin.
After a heroic effort on the final stage, Harry and Coral crossed the line 2.1 seconds ahead of their rivals, securing the driver’s championship title with just a single-point lead.
Toyota managed to secure the manufacturer’s title for the 2023 Australian Rally Championship season at the penultimate event in Adelaide after a 1-2 finish, with Lewis Bates and Anthony Mcloughlin taking line honours, followed by Harry & Coral in second place.
The Toyota Gazoo Racing Team, headed by Neal Bates Motorsport closed the year with a fantastic 1-2 finish in the overall standings, cementing the 2023 Manufacturers’ Championship title.
“The work that the entire Neal Bates Motorsport team does to bring home victory after victory is nothing short of incredible, and we will continuously thank you for everything you do,” says Toyota’s Chief Marketing Officer, Vin Naidoo.
“Our congratulations go to Harry and Coral for what was not only a stellar drive over the weekend to finish the season with a championship title, but also to consistently push through any adversity throughout the season to come out on top,” he added.
“To Lewis and Anthony, you both had an unbelievable season, you drive incredibly well, taking the final fight down to the final stage in the final round… being on the podium each round is a remarkable achievement in itself, and something to be proud of,” Naidoo concluded.
“This rally has really been a reflection of the entire season with myself and Coral battling it out against Lewis and Anthony for maximum points in every round and it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster,” said Harry Bates.
“We swapped the lead a number of times over the weekend, but we knew to take the title, we needed to win the rally and power stages for the points, so we just kept up the pace and the concentration because Lewis and Anthony were so close,” he added.
