Mid-Season Report: From Tarmac Champions to Gravel Rookies

When we won the Production 4WD class at Targa New Zealand in 2025, we could have stayed on tarmac and chased more of the same. Instead, we did the opposite — we bought a classic Subaru Impreza, pointed it at the dirt, and signed up for our first full season of gravel rallying.

Half a season in, here's how it's gone.

The gravel debut

Our first gravel event ever was the Rally of Bathurst in March. We had no idea what we were in for, but the car held together and we brought it home 26th outright — a finish we'll happily take for a first attempt. A week later came the Mitta Mountain Rally (16th outright), and then the big one: the three-day Shannons Rally of the Heartland marathon in South Australia, where we finished 8th outright in the East Coast Classic field — our best result of the year so far.

June: AMSAG and our ARC debut

June was a huge month. We contested the AMSAG Bega Valley Rally — one of Australia's oldest rally events — and came away 15th outright. Then we lined up for our Australian Rally Championship debut at the Narooma Forest Rally. We lost the clutch partway through and nursed the car home on what was left of it… and still finished 18th outright. Sometimes just making it to the end is the win.

The lows

It hasn't all gone our way. We DNF'd at the Mt Buller Sprint (a turbo let go) and again at the Great Alpine Rally (an engine problem forced us out early). Mechanical gremlins are part of privateer life — you learn, you rebuild, you turn up to the next one.

What's next

The second half of the year is stacked: Rally of the Bay, Classic Queensland, the Barossa, Snowy River, and the season-closing Gippsland Rally ARC finale in November. Plus a few new AMSAG rounds we've added to the calendar.

You can see every round, result, and recap on our full 2026 season page — and if you want to follow along stage by stage, subscribe on YouTube.