MOTORSPORT: Youngsters making mark in rallying

It was a weekend for youngsters in rallying.

Harry Bates, 22, won his home round of the Australian Rally Championship, the National Capital Rally in Canberra.

Driving a Toyota Corolla S2000, Bates had already become the youngest round winner in ARC history with his success at the season-opening Eureka Rally at Ballarat in Victoria.

His second victory, after a difficult round at Western Australia's Forest Rally, has him back in the championship lead with two rounds remaining – Rally South Australia in September and as part of Rally Australia at Coffs Harbour, NSW, in November.

A 20-year-old Norwegian, Ole Christian Veiby, won the Asia Pacific Rally Championship round in Canberra, ending a streak of seven straight APRC victories by his experienced Indian teammate Guarav Gill.

They drive a pair of Skoda Fabia R5s for India's Team MRF.

Despite Veiby's commanding performance in the tricky wet Canberra conditions – one of Sunday's six stages was cancelled due to flooding – Gill is still favourite for another APRC titles.

The next round is in Malaysia in August, following the cancellation of China Rally Zhangye, which had been scheduled for July, due to "logistical considerations".

That cancellation is another blow for the international governing Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and WRC Promoter, which are keen to establish a regular Chinese round of the World Rally Championship. One on last year's calendar was cancelled at short notice.

Meanwhile, Bates now heads reigning ARC champion Molly Taylor in a Subaru WRX STI by three points, 195-192, after previous leader Nathan Quinn, of Coffs Harbour in Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, lost more than five minutes with a puncture in Sunday's second heat in Canberra.

Bates is the son of four-time national champion Neal Bates, while Taylor, 29, is the daughter of Neal Bates' long-time co-driver Coral Taylor.

An even younger Bates, Lewis, rolled a rented Toyota Corolla rally car at last Friday's shakedown for the Canberra event.

Quinn, who was fastest on the two of Sunday's stages not won by Bates, is now third in the ARC points on 149, while triple champion Eli Evans is on 133.

Evans won three of Saturday's eight stages in the MINI Cooper AP4 he rallied for the first time.

He said the car was "incredibly strong" but "just doesn't feel quite right" yet.

Solberg shines as rallycross turns 50
Rallycross – the combination of rallying and circuit racing in short races – celebrated its 50th 'birthday' at the weekend, with a world championship round at the sport's birthplace – Lydden Hill in Kent, England.

Petter Solberg, the Norwegian one-time world rally champion who claimed the first two World RX titles in 2014 and '15, scored an emphatic victory in his Volkswagen GTI Polo.

Solberg's Swedish teammate, Johan Kristoffersson, was runner-up and has taken this year's series lead from his countryman and reigning World RX champion, Mattias Ekstrom, who drives an Audi S1 Quattro and was restricted to fourth at Lydden Hill by a puncture in the final.

Solberg's PSRX Volkswagen Sweden now has a 69-point lead in the teams championship over Team Peugeot-Hansen, whose Sebastien Loeb and Timmy Hansen were fifth and sixth in Peugeot 208s at the latest round – behind Andreas Bakkerud, driving a Ford Focus RS for Ken Block's Hoonigan Racing Division. Block was seventh.

The next round is at Hell in Norway.

Runners-up in the 500km race were Dom Storey and Peter Hackett in the Mercedes AMG that started from pole position.

Fraser Ross and Warren Luff were third in a McLaren 650S, a late charge in the wet conditions secured fourth for Geoff Emery and Garth Tander in an Audi R8, while Liam Talbot and John Martin were fifth in a Porsche 911.

West Australian Jordan Love starred in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge with wins in both races of the second round of that series.

The remaining three rounds of the Endurance Championship are at Sydney Motorsport Park on August 18, then across the Tasman at Tony Quinn's Hampton Downs on October 27 and Highlands Motorsport Park on November 10.